^L«ll»{i^Mm»i«l^fe: 


. oEER, THINGS  ABOU 


ERSIA 


mi'  '\  ■ 


■i 


'il^SiiSi^rtesEaia-axajaaeSDi  v. 


.__  r^^^^^^^^s^^M^^^^^^m 

BtoUGLAS  SLADh\' 

\-i,w;;  ■.■■.■■'„. 


-^ 

"» 

■■<^ 

'V 

4 

4 

ij^mm 


O 


3 

u 


QUEER  THINGS 
ABOUT  PERSIA 


BY 


EUSTACHE    DE    LOREY 

FORMERLY  OF  THE  LEGATION  OF  FRANCE 
AT  THE  COURT  OF  PERSIA 

AND 

DOUGLAS   SLADEN 

AUTHOR    OF     "QUEER    THINGS    ABOUT    JAPAN" 
"THE    SECRETS    OF    THE   VATICAN"    ETC.    ETC. 


WITH   FIFTY-TWO   FULL-PAGE   ILLUSTRATIONS 


PHILADELPHIA 
J.     B.     LIPPINCOTT     CO. 

LONDON:    EVELEIGH    NASH 

1907 


mi 


PREFACE 

I  HAVE  never  written  a  book  whose  title  was  so  much 
criticised  as  my  recently  published  Secrets  of  the  Vatican. 
But  no  one,  I  think,  will  say  that  Qzieer  Things  about 
Persia  is  a  misnomer.  As  its  name  implies,  it  is  written 
on  the  lines  of  my  Queer  Things  about  Japan.  In  other 
words,  leaving  completeness  to  those  who  have  had 
greater  opportunities  of  studying  the  country,  it  is  content 
to  be  characteristic. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  this  book  is  written  in  the  first 
person  singular. 

I  have  not  been  in  Persia,  whereas  Mr.  de  Lorey 
spent  two  years  there  as  a  member  of  the  Legation  of 
France  at  the  Court  of  Teheran. 

It  is  right,  therefore,  that  the  descriptions  should  be 
his  in  form  as  they  are  in  actuality.  Our  method  of 
collaboration  was  very  simple  and  direct.  I  suggested 
to  him  a  general  scheme  for  the  book,  drawn  up  on  the 
lines  of  my  Queer  Things  about  Japan.  He  considered 
how  far  this  was  applicable  to  the  conditions  of  Persia, 
and  produced  the  actual  scheme.     Upon  this  we  worked. 

Our  method  of  work  was  for  him  to  spend  so  many 
hours  or  days  in  thinking  out  the  subject  of  a  chapter. 


vi  PREFACE 

When  he  had  arranged  his  notes,  he  dictated  and  I  wrote 
down  the  chapter,  and  this  time  it  was  I  who  made  the 
suggestions.      But   the  alterations    I   suggested  were  as 
few    as    possible,    because    I    felt    that    each   alteration 
detracted  from  the  unity  of  his  conception,      I  venture 
to  think  that  both  the  indolent  reader  who  merely  wishes 
to  be  thoroughly  amused,  and  the  more  serious  person 
who   wishes   to  get  an   idea  of  Persia,   will   be  equally 
grateful  to  me,  for  seldom  has  so  fresh  a  picture  been 
presented  of  that  distant  and   unapproachable  country, 
which  has  preserved  its   individuality  unimpaired   since 
the  days  when  the  Ruler  of  Persia  would  have  overrun 
the  world  if  a  Spartan  King  had  not  held  the  passes  of 
Thermopylae,  and  Athens  had  not  laid  the  foundations 
of  her  fame  with  her  dazzling  victories  of  Marathon  and 
Salamis.     Xerxes  and  Darius,  Artaxerxes  and  Cyrus,  are 
all  household  words.     From  Xenophon,  who  was  one  of 
the  ten  thousand  Greeks  who  all  but  overthrew  the  great 
King  in  the  heart  of  his    empire,  and  when  they  lost 
their  leader,  fought  their  way   back  to   the  sea  where 
Constantinople   stands  to-day,    we    take   familiar  words 
like  paradise  and  satrap,  just  as  in  our  own  day  we  have 
taken  khaki  from  khak — the  Persian  word  for  mud. 

What  Greeks  fighting  under  the  Persian  Prince 
Cyrus  nearly  achieved  at  the  end  of  the  fifth  century 
B.C.,  men  of  Greek  race  achieved  less  than  a  century 
later  under  Alexander  of  Macedon,  the  wonder  of  the 
world.  He  attacked  and  threw  down  Persia,  and  Asia 
was  at  his  feet. 


PREFACE  vii 

Behind  the  ruins  of  Persia  rose  Parthia,  whose 
dashing  horse  archers  outmanoeuvred  the  iron  legionaries 
of  Rome.  And  Persia  itself  under  Chosroes  was  a 
greater  conqueror  in  the  West  than  in  her  early  zenith 
under  Xerxes.  But  neither  on  these  ancient  military 
glories,  when  Persia  ravaged  the  world,  nor  on  her  last 
great  triumph,  when  Nadir  Shah  swept  as  a  conqueror 
through  India  and  brought  back  the  Peacock  Throne — 
most  glittering  of  the  trophies  of  history — as  a  record,  do 
we  dwell  in  these  pages.  Still  less  shall  we  linger  to 
untwine  the  tortuous  skein  of  Eastern  politics.  But  of 
the  life  of  the  Shah,  as  the  last  of  the  dazzling  monarchs 
of  the  Golden  East  who  has  survived  to  show  us  the 
splendour  of  Asia  at  the  Court  of  the  Great  Mogul, 
innumerable  details  are  given. 

This  book,  in  fact,  aims  at  representing  the  life  of  the 
Shah  and  the  life  of  his  people — it  is  in  the  extrava- 
gances of  both  that  we  have  sought  Queer  Things  about 
Persia. 

The  Persian  is  very  little  changed  in  the  centuries 
which  have  elapsed  since  the  Arabian  Nights  were 
written.  What  was  true  of  his  neighbours  then,  comes 
near  being  true  about  him  to-day.  He  is  a  "  courtly 
primitive."  His  manners  are  very  perfect  even  for 
an  Asiatic  gentleman.  He  has  an  esprit  not  often 
vouchsafed  to  Asiatics ;  but  he  can  also  be  Asiatically 
cruel,  treacherous,  and  untruthful,  and  has  only  passive 
courage :  and  he  is  indolent  and  unpatriotic,  though 
there  are  many  brilliant  exceptions. 


viii  PREFACE 

Besides  his  delightful  courtesy  and  vivacity,  the 
Persian  has  many  other  good  qualities,  such  as  his  love 
of  poetry  and  literature,  his  love  of  flowers,  his  love  of 
beauty  generally.  He  is  aesthetic,  not  only  in  his  tastes, 
but  in  his  life.  He  is  a  fine  horseman  and  a  lover  of 
sport.  He  is,  in  fact,  a  survival  of  the  mediaeval,  a 
twentieth-century  troubadour  hedged  in  by  harems. 

This  book  aims,  on  the  one  hand,  at  describing  the 
life  of  the  Persian — from  the  Shah  in  his  palace  to  the 
house-guard  who  receives  only  a  few  shillings  a  month  ; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  at  describing  the  surroundings 
of  the  European  residents  in  Teheran.  In  the  latter 
category  Mr.  de  Lorey  gives  us,  with  engaging  directness, 
his  own  experiences  in  taking  a  house,  engaging  servants, 
buying  horses,  wandering  about  the  streets,  shopping  in 
the  bazars,  learning  to  speak  and  write  Persian,  and 
visiting  Persians  in  their  homes.  And  he  winds  up  with 
a  description  of  his  visit  to  the  Caucasus  and  Persian 
Kurdistan,  which  brought  him  in  contact  with  a  life  and 
types  strange  and  interesting  even  for  Persia.  Here  we 
have  the  sublime  Peak  of  Ararat,  the  ancient  city  of 
Tiflis,  and  Ur  of  the  Chaldees  before  us.  And  Mr. 
de  Lorey  s  narrative  becomes  positively  thrilling  as  he 
describes  his  ride  through  the  country  haunted  by  the 
brigand  Shahsevends  into  Tabriz. 

Mr.  de  Lorey  has  many  stories  to  tell — sometimes 
they  are  of  adventure,  as  in  the  episode  when  he  was 
held  up  by  the  seven  armed  horsemen  in  the  Pass,  or 
when    he    went   home  and  found   a   crowd  outside  his 


PREFACE  ix 

house  clamouring  for  his  blood,  because  his  servant, 
Abd-Oullah,  had  taken  a  Mohammedan  woman  into 
the  house  ;  sometimes  they  are  illustrative  of  modern 
Persian  life,  such  as  the  story  how  they  found  a  boy 
to  take  its  place  when  the  cat  which  was  the  Shah's 
mascot  died ;  or  the  story  of  the  Governor  who,  when 
a  peasant  was  insensible  to  his  graciousness,  shot  him 
like  a  crow  ;  or  the  story  of  the  Frenchman  who  had 
to  turn  Mohammedan  or  die  because  he  was  discovered 
with  a  Mohammedan  woman  ;  or  a  Persian  version  of 
the  Taming  of  the  Shrew.  Sometimes  they  are  old 
Persian  stories,  such  as  the  Tale  of  the  Forty  Parrots ; 
of  King  Solomon's  Adventure  with  a  Djinn  ;  of  the 
traveller  who  lost  a  bag  of  gold  at  the  well ;  of  the 
astrologer  who  told  a  man  everything  that  was  going 
to  happen  to  him  in  his  whole  life,  though  his  gift  of 
prophecy  did  not  reveal  that  his  own  wife  was  at  that 
moment  being  carried  off  by  her  lover ;  of  the  rich 
merchant  who  divorced  his  wife  once  too  often  ;  and 
of  the  grateful  dragon  ;  with  a  score  of  others. 

Mr.  de  Lorey  has  much  to  say  of  the  humours 
of  the  Persian  police  ;  of  the  humours  of  his  servants, 
one  of  whom  discontinued  being  a  tailor  to  become 
his  valet,  and  another  left  his  service  to  become  a 
colonel ;  of  the  humours  of  Persian  race-meetings  and 
the  Persian  army,  and  Nasr-ed-Din's  methods  of  re- 
cruiting his  harem. 

But  the  book  is  not  given  up  to  humours ;  there 
are  vivid   descriptions   of  the   streets  and  squares,   the 


X  PREFACE 

palaces,  mosques,  and  gardens  of  Teheran ;  of  the 
Shah's  and  Grand  Vizier's  receptions ;  of  hashish- 
smoking  at  the  Persian  princes' ;  of  the  machinery  of 
Government,  and  justice  ;  of  the  bastinado  and  execu- 
tions ;  of  the  bazars ;  of  the  hanimam  or  Turkish 
baths ;  of  the  caravanseraies  or  inns  ;  of  the  making 
and  seUing  of  Persian  carpets,  and  the  Hke. 

Mr,  de  Lorey  has  much  to  say  on  the  subject  of 
reHgions,  in  which  Persia  is  rich,  with  its  Shiites,  Babis, 
Nestorians,  Chaldees,  and  Fire-worshippers.  He  dwells 
upon  the  importance  of  Ali  and  the  twelve  Imams  in 
Persia,  on  the  popularity  of  pilgrimages,  and  on  the 
extraordinariness  of  the  religious  plays  which  are 
performed  in  the  month  of  Moharrem,  one  of  which 
he  translates.  The  chapter  on  the  persecution  of  the 
Babis  shows  how  primitive  the  Persians  still  remain, 
almost  as  much  as  the  details  of  harem  life  do. 

Mr.  de  Lorey  has  very  wisely  devoted  a  large 
portion  of  his  attention  to  the  position  of  women  in 
Persia.  His  account  of  the  Teheran  Palace  of  the 
King  of  Kings  ;  of  the  Peacock  Throne  whose  jewels 
are  valued  at  six  millions  sterlino" ;  of  the  huoe  terrestrial 
globe  made  of  solid  gold  encrusted  with  jewels  ;  of  the 
Shah's  diplomatic  receptions  and  reviews  of  his  troops, 
— will  have  less  fascination  for  many  a  reader  than  the 
detailed  account  of  his  harem,  derived  from  the  doctor 
of  his  favourite  wife.  The  many  pages  which  deal 
with  the  harem  of  the  Shah  and  the  harems  of  his 
subjects  are  rich  in  queer  things,   but  then,  if  ever  a 


PREFACE  xi 

book  was  exactly  named,  this  is.  It  is  full  of  queer 
facts  about  street  dogs ;  hashish-smoking ;  the  tricks 
of  Dervishes  ;  the  management  of  water-pipes  (kalyan) ; 
the  odd  garments  of  both  men  and  women  ;  the  Per- 
sian tea-house  ;  the  educated  nightingale  ;  musicians  ; 
acrobats  ;  wrestlers  ;  the  dancers  in  the  harems  ;  Persian 
food,  pilaws  and  chilaws,  and  the  deadly  cucumber 
and  curds ;  banquets ;  gambling ;  the  Persian's  un- 
rivalled skill  in  lying ;  his  ideas  upon  woman's  beauty ; 
the  language  of  flowers,  vegetables,  and  spices ;  the 
punishments  of  women  ;  temporary  marriages ;  Persian 
weddings,  divorces  and  polygamy  ;  the  Shah's  unique 
sleeping  arrangements ;  the  charms  taken  by  women  in 
order  to  have  children  ;  old  women  go-betweens  ;  the 
Shah's  craze  for  novelties  and  being  photographed  ;  the 
suite  of  thousands  that  accompanies  the  Shah  when  he 
is  travelling ;  the  fate  of  reforms ;  the  newspaper  which 
only  lived  a  day  ;  the  religious  conspiracy  (or  revolt) 
against  the  tobacco  concession  ;  the  Shah's  letter-boxes 
and  telephone  offices  for  complaints  from  his  subjects ; 
the  Persian's  idea  of  water- works  and  gas-works ;  his 
system  for  robbing  the  mails  ;  his  calendar  and  his  faith 
in  astrologers.  The  late  Shah  appears  in  a  hundred 
different  aspects :  now  as  holding  auctions  in  bazars, 
now  as  putting  off  the  races  to  which  he  has  asked  the 
whole  diplomatic  body,  because  he  has  sneezed  once  and 
he  is  unable  to  sneeze  twice. 

Atmosphere  is  what  Mr.  de  Lorey  aimed  at. 

In  this  book  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  give  an 


xii  PREFACE 

exhaustive  account  of  Persia.     Mr.  de  Lorey's  aim  has 

been  to  present  Persia  as  it  presented  itself  to  the  eyes 

of  one  who  in  the  earHest  years  of  manhood  was  thrown 

by    the    chances    of    diplomatic    life    into    daily    contact 

with     an    ancient    and    effete     civilisation,    which    was 

generally    most    comic     when     it     was    meant    to    be 

serious. 

Sheltered  by  diplomatic  jealousies,  the  Sick  Man  of 

the  Middle  East,  like  the  sick  men  of  Turkey  in  the  Near 

East,  and  China  in  the  Far  East,  has  not  yet  felt  obliged 

to  put  his  house  in  order.     His  soldiers,  though  armed 

with  rifles  and  clothed  with  theatrical  copies  of  European 

uniforms,    are    still    disorderly  levies ;    his    Parliament, 

which  has  begun  so  well,  is  only  a  creation  of  yesterday  ; 

and  his  highest  moments  of  religious  exaltation  are  at 

the  extraordinary  religious  drama,  in  which  the  murder 

of  the   family   of    Ali    is    enacted   for    the    edification 

of  the   orthodox    Shiite,   with  such   a  small   regard  for 

probabilities  that  the  actors,  who  are  taking  the  parts 

of  the    murderers,   forget  themselves,   and  join   in    the 

groans   and    tears    of   the    audience    over   the  death  of 

the  Imam. 

DOUGLAS  SLADEN. 


POSTSCRIPTUM 


As  the  book  was  going  to  press,  Mr.  de  Lorey  had 
the  good  fortune  to  meet  a  Persian  Diplomatist  of 
the  highest  rank,  who  had  just  arrived  in  Europe  from 


PREFACE  xiii 

his  native  country.  He  had  some  surprising  dis- 
closures to  make.  "  If  I  had  not  seen  these  things,"  he 
exclaimed  vehemently,  "  I  could  not  have  believed  them 
myself!" 

The  Revolution  that  took  place  a  few  months  ago, 
contrary  to  all  expectations,  has  been  a  reality.  The 
Clergy,  who  had  always  been  against  every  kind  of 
reform,  have  been  found  in  the  van  of  the  present 
movement.  The  least-suspected  Mollahs  have  suddenly 
thrown  away  the  mask  of  dissimulation,  and  have  shown 
that  they  had  progressive  ideas  and  a  knowledge  of 
modern  world  -  politics  of  which  no  one  would  have 
suspected  them.  Parliament,  which  was  regarded  by 
Europeans  as  a  pale  reflection  of  the  ineffective  Russian 
Duma,  is  proving  fruitful.  Several  very  important 
reforms  have  already  been  inaugurated,  the  most  extra- 
ordinary of  which  is  the  liberty  of  the  Press.  Thanks 
to  this,  from  day  to  day  sixty  papers  have  sprung 
up,  in  which  even  the  Shah,  who  has  hitherto  been 
sacred,  is  openly  criticised.  Another  not  less  astounding 
reform  is  the  foundation  of  schools  for  girls  in  Persia, 
because  the  idea  of  allowing  women  to  be  really 
instructed  is  completely  foreign  to  the  old  Persian. 
The  Shah  is  frightened  by  the  swiftness  of  events,  and 
has  recalled  from  exile  to  his  aid  the  strongest  man  of 
Persia,  Amin-es-Sultan,  the  former  Grand  Vizier,  who, 
in  spite  of  four  years'  travel  over  the  world,  remains 
true  to  the  old  Persian  traditions  of  government, 
which  he  practised  for  so  many  years.      It  will  be  seen 


xiv  PREFACE 

from  this  that  the  Shah's  attitude  to  the  reforms  seems 
to  be  one  of  yielding  where  he  cannot  refuse.  It 
remains  to  be  seen  whether  the  aspirations  of  the 
Young  Persian  party  will  be  strong  enough  to  overcome 
his  resistance. 


CONTENTS 


CHAP. 

I.    FIRST    GLIMPSES    OF   TEHERAN 
II.    LEARNING    TO   SPEAK    AND   WRITE    PERSIAN 

III.  MY    HOUSE    IN    TEHERAN    . 

IV.  THE   QUESTION    OF    SERVANTS 
V.    HORSES    AND    SPORT 

VI.    THE   STREETS    OF   TEHERAN 
VII.    DOGS    AND    DERVISHES 
VIII.    TYPICAL    PERSIANS 

IX.  A  Persian's  day  . 

X.    the   character    OF   THE    PERSIANS 
XI.    THE    POSITION    OF   WOMEN    IN    PERSIA 
XII.    PERSIAN    WOMEN    AND   THEIR   DRESS 

XIII.  AMUSEMENTS    AND    PUNISHMENTS    OF   THE   ENDEROUN 

XIV.  MARRIAGES   AND   TEMPORARY    MARRIAGES 

XV.    DIVORCE     ...... 

XVI.    POLYGAMY  ..... 

XVII.    THE    shah's    HAREM  .... 

XVIII.    THE   SHAH    IN    HIS    PALACE 

XIX.    COURT   RECEPTIONS    OF   THE   DIPLOMATIC    BODY      . 

XX.    THE   TRAVELS    OF   THE    SHAH 

XXI.    GOVERNMENT   AND   JUSTICE 

XXII.    THE    FATE   OF    REFORMS    IN   PERSIA 

XV 


PAGE 
I 

II 

17 
23 

33 

44 

57 
64 

73 

87 

96 

103 

III 

120 

133 
140 

153 
172 
179 

185 
191 
209 


XVI 

CHAP. 

XXIIl. 
XXIV. 

XXV. 

XXVI. 

XXVII. 

XXVIII. 

XXIX. 

XXX. 
XXXI. 
XXXII, 


CONTENTS 


BAZARS — I 

BAZARS — II 

BAZARS — III 

BAZARS — IV 

BAZARS — V 

RELIGIONS 

RELIGIOUS    PROCESSIONS 
OBER    AMMERGAU 


AND    THEATRES 


THE    BABIS 

SUPERSTITIONS,    ASTROLOGERS,    DJINNS 

BOUND   FOR   KURDISTAN    . 


— THE 


PERSIAN 


PAGE 
228 

258 
268 

281 
331 


LIST     OF     ILLUSTRATIONS 


THE   BEAUTIFUL   GATE    OF   TEHERAN 

TARTAR   TRIBESMEN    FROM    THE    NORTH    OF    PERSIA 

TOMB   OF    SHAHZADEH    HOUSSEIN    IN    KASVIN       . 

M.    EUSTACHE    DE    LOREY    IN    THE    COURTYARD    OF    HIS 
HOUSE    IN    TEHERAN 

LAZES   OF    THE    CAUCASUS 

A    PERSIAN    MOSQUE         .... 

MARCH    PAST    AT   THE    RACES    OF    DOWSHAN-TEPEH 

MEIDAN-I-TOUP-KHANEH 

A      MILITARY     REVIEW      ON      THE     GREAT      SQUARE      OF 
ISPAHAN      ..... 

DERVAZEH-DOWLEH — A   GATE    IN   TEHERAN,    IN    WINTER 

A   DERVISH  ..... 

H.    E.    ZEHIR-ED-DOWLEH,    MASTER    OF   CEREMONIES 

GEORGIAN  ..... 

MINGRELIAN        ..... 

CUPS,    SHERBET-SPOON,    TEA-CADDY,    AND    GOULDOUZI 

CHARACTERISTIC      PERSIAN      GARDEN       BELONGING      TO 
H.H.    NAIB-ES-SALTANEH 

A    HALL    IN    A    PERSIAN    PALACE 

ROOF   TERRACES  .... 

PERSIAN  WOMAN  IN    HAREM  COSTUME  WITH   A  KURDISH 
HEADDRESS  .... 


Frontispiece 
Facing  page    4 
10 


18 

22 

30 

46 

50 
54 
62 
66 
72 
78 
84 

88 
94 

TOO 
104 


xviii  LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

THE  CHADER  AND  ROUHBAND  (OUTDOOR  DRESS  OF 

A  PERSIAN  woman)  .  .  .  .  Facing  page  no 

MOSQUE    OF    KOUM,    THE    FAVOURITE    PILGRIMAGE    FOR 

PERSIAN   WOMEN      .                  .                  .                  .                  .  ,,114 

A    RICH    PERSIAN'S    HOUSE             .                  .                  .                  .  „            1  20 

PERSIAN    DANCERS    FROM    ANCIENT    PICTURES      .                  .  ,,136 

A    FAMOUS    PILGRIMAGE    SHRINE    NEAR    TEHERAN,    THE 
TOMB    OF    SHAH    ABD-OUL-AZIM,     SURROUNDED     BY 

MOLLAHS    AND    SEYYEDS       .                  .                  .                  .  ,,144 

JOSEPH    ENTERING   ZULEIKHA's    HAREM                   .                  .  „            148 
From  an  Ancient  Painting. 

ZIRZAMIN,    UNDERGROUND    HALL   USED    IN    SUMMER        .  „            1 54 

YOUNG    DANCER    FROM    BOKHARA                .                  .                  .  ,,158 

THE    CELEBRATED    DANCERS    OF   THE    SUSMANI    TRIBE     .  „            1 64 

THE    FAMOUS    PILGRIMAGE    SHRINE    OF    MESHED                   .  ,,            1 68 

JEWELS     GIVEN     BY     THE     SHAH     OF     PERSIA     TO     THE 

SHRINE   OF    MESHED               .                  .                  .                  .  ,,174 

A    TALAR    WITH    THE   CUSTOMARY   TANK                  .                  .  „            1 76 

IMPERIAL    JIKA,     SET     IN     THE     LARGEST     EMERALD     IN 

THE   WORLD    AND    DIAMOND    ORNAMENTS    .                  .  „            182 

RECEPTION     OF     AN     AMBASSADOR     BY     THE     SHAH     OF 

PERSIA  ......,,  184 

From  an  Ancient  Painting. 

TOMB    OF    BAJAZET    I.,    SULTAN    OF    TURKEY,    BUILT    BY 

SHAH    KHODABENDEH    NEAR    SHAHROUD      .                  .  „            19O 

WEIGHING   TAX   MONEY    BEFORE   THE   VIZIERS    .                 .  ,,198 

COURTYARD    OF    THE    MOSQUE    OF    KOUM                 .                  .  „            2IO 

SABZ-MEIDAN — A    SQUARE    IN    THE    BAZAR              .                  .  ,,2  20 

MOLLAH    PREACHING   IN    A    MOSQUE   DURING   THE    HOLY 

MONTH    OF    MOHARREM         .                  .                  .                  .  „           23O 

ROCK    SCULPTURES    BY    FETH-ALI-SHAH    AT    CHECH MEH- 

ALI  ......,,  242 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


XIX 


CARPET    WEAVING    IN    THE    BAZAR 

A    PERSIAN    TRADESMAN 

PORTAL   OF   THE   MEDER-I-SHAH    MOSQUE 

M.    E.    C.    COLLECTION    FROM    THE    BAZAR     OF    ANTIQUI 
TIES    AT   TEHERAN 

RELIGIOUS    PROCESSION    IN    THE    BAZAR 

THE    SABZ-MEIDAN    ON    THE   DAY   OF   ASHOURA  . 

KATEL   OR    MUTILATION    OF    RELIGIOUS    FANATICS 

TIFLIS    ...... 

THE  TENDOUR.  MAKING  BREAD  IN  OURMIAH.  COTTON 
THRESHING  .... 

MY   ESCORT    IN    KURDISTAN 

BUFFALO  FIGHT  IN  A  CHRISTIAN  VILLAGE  NEAR 
OURMIAH    ..... 

PREHISTORIC  JUG  FOUND  AT  MARAGHA,  AND  AN 
EMBROIDERY  FROM  BOKHARA  (COLLECTION  OF 
THE    author)  ..... 


Facing  page  254 
»  256 

J,  262 

„     264 

„     282 

„     298 

304 

334 

340 
348 

»    364 
376 


2J!:iMj^■:^'SiI^\yix-^i^ss>l.ty^uai/y^^ 


qUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

CHAPTER    I 

FIRST   GLIMPSES    OF    TEHERAN 

Teheran  has  no  distant  enchanting  view.  The  visions 
of  minarets,  domes,  and  cypress  gardens  which  make 
your  heart  beat  high  as  you  draw  near  a  city  of  the 
fantastic  Orient  rise  not  before  you,  and  when  at  length 
she  reveals  herself  at  the  last  turn  of  the  road,  she  has 
nothing  to  offer  but  a  mud  wall,  the  arch  of  a  gate,  and 
a  fringe  of  planes  and  poplars. 

That  is  the  first  disillusion  at  the  threshold  of  the 
Centre  of  the  Universe.  When  you  have  compounded 
with  the  customs  agents — there  is  a  tariff  for  not  having 
your  baggage  examined — and  are  free  to  enter  the 
meandering  streets,  walls  of  grey  mud  are  your  horizon 
still,  and  the  people  who  walk  between  them  wear  mud- 
coloured  clothes.  The  term  khaki  is  a  Persian  word 
meaning  muddy.     That  is  the  second  disillusion. 

After  having  travelled  so  far  and  suffered  so  many 
hardships,  I  expected  my  fatigues  to  be  dissipated  by 
some  touch  of  the  Arabian  Nights,  and  felt  oppressed 


2  QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

at  the  everlasting  grey.  The  long,  shady  boulevards 
only  showed  me  that  the  Shah  had  been  in  Europe ; 
I  saw  little  else  but  dirty  soldiers,  with  uniforms  vaguely 
copied  from  the  armies  of  the  West,  shambling  along  in 
heelless  slippers  and  looking  as  unmartial  as  sandwich- 
men  ;  droves  of  donkeys  of  the  same  muddy  grey,  bowed 
down  with  their  burdens  of  dingy  bricks,  and  dun  dogs 
grey  with  dust,  which  looked  askance  at  a  stranger  and 
grudged  him  a  welcome  to  that  sombre,  sad,  inhospitable- 
looking  city  of  Islam.  To  complete  the  gloominess  of 
the  picture,  the  women,  who  are  the  flowers  of  our 
crowds,  are  in  Persia  black,  shapeless  phantoms  steal- 
ing silently  along  in  the  shadow  of  the  walls. 

The  hotel  where  I  put  up  was  a  small,  one-storeyed 
house  built  round  a  courtyard  with  a  sunken  garden, 
and  was  kept  by  an  Englishman.  The  rooms  were 
small  but  fairly  clean,  and  the  food  was  of  no  nation- 
ality. The  English  thought  it  might  be  French,  which 
would  have  been  an  insult  to  any  "chef";  the  French 
thought  it  German ;  the  Persian  knew  that  it  was  not 
his.  But  even  that  was  luxurious  for  a  few  days  after 
the  hardships  and  starvations  of  the  road. 

The  servants  were,  of  course,  natives,  and  none  of 
them  could  speak  a  word  of  any  intelligible  language, 
even  Persian.  They  belonged  to  a  Turkish  tribe  which 
rested  under  the  stigma  of  being  honest,  which  is  not 
in  the  category  of  Persian  virtues.  Their  dress  was  as 
formal  as  it  was  filthy,  a  long  dark  blue  frock-coat  with 
gilt  buttons,  and  a  huge  lambskin  hat,  or  kolah. 


FIRST  GLIMPSES  OF  TEHERAN  3 

As  to  the  guests,  they  were  of  all  shades,  from  the 
military-looking  English  superintendent  of  the  Anglo- 
Indian  Telegraphs  to  the  Polish  electrical  engineer, 
employed  as  a  last  resort  in  repairing  the  first  motor  car 
that  ever  struggled  through  the  dust  of  Persia.  Curiously 
enough,  the  language  spoken  in  that  English  hotel 
inhabited  by  cosmopolitans  was  French.  And  if  the 
French  was  indifferent,  the  conversation  was  brilliant,  as 
it  always  is  in  Persia,  thanks  to  the  exhilarating  climate. 

In  the  sitting-room,  recalling  vaguely  its  prototypes 
in  Brixton  boarding-houses,  a  piano,  tired  with  excursions 
to  various  harems,  was  kept  in  countenance  by  wax 
flowers  wedged  into  beautiful  old  Persian  jars ;  while 
a  cuckoo  clock  contrasted  with  a  finely  carved  brass 
tray  of  Ispahan. 

The  grey  evening  fell  on  that  grey  day.  I  was  glad 
when  I  found  my  head  upon  my  pillow,  and,  wrapped  in 
my  disenchantment,  I  went  to  sleep. 

When  morning  broke,  I  repeated  to  myself  the  words 
of  the  wise  Eastern  king  who  gave  the  world  his  match- 
less Book  of  Psalms :  *'  Heaviness  may  endure  for  a 
night,  but  joy  cometh  in  the  morning."  For  the  bright 
sun  of  November  shone  in  the  pale  blue  skies.  Distant 
sounds  of  music  and  rejoicing  pervaded  the  atmosphere. 
The  grey  dream  flew  away  like  a  moth  of  the  night. 
That  sun  was  the  Soleil  Roi — the  Sun  of  the  East.  Had 
I  really  taken  the  first  step  into  the  Orient  ?  A  cup  of 
delicious  tea  flavoured  with  Shiraz  lemon,  brought  by  a 
"smiling  slave,"  answered  me  in  the  affirmative. 


4  QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

I  rushed  into  the  street  and  breathed  in  the  pure  air. 
It  was  a  long  avenue,  in  which  the  grey  walls  on  each 
side  were  lost  behind  a  close  hedge  of  trees,  planted 
haphazard,  with  elms,  mulberries,  and  poplars,  all  wooed 
into  delicate  robes  of  green  by  the  crystal  water  running 
at  their  feet. 

I  went  wandering  without  a  guide ;  I  flew  to  the 
music  as  an  insect  flies  to  a  light.  I  came  upon  a  great 
crowd — and  pushed  my  way  through  it.  I  must  say,  to 
the  honour  of  that  crowd,  that  they  were  almost  eager  to 
let  me  go  in  front.  To  my  astonishment,  I  found  myself 
within  twelve  paces  of  the  Shah.  The  Shadow  of  God 
was  sitting  on  a  folding  carpet-chair  with  an  ineffable 
fringe,  in  the  open  portal  of  the  Gate  of  Diamonds,  which 
leads  to  the  harem.  A  group  of  enormously  tall  eunuchs 
made  a  background  with  their  black  robes  and  resigned 
countenances.  On  his  right  was  one  of  his  young  brothers, 
dressed  as  a  general ;  on  his  left,  one  of  his  sons  and  a 
dwarf ;  in  front  of  him  he  had  a  cheap  folding  gipsy  table. 

His  Majesty  was  staring  into  vacancy,  nervously 
pulling  his  moustaches.  He  was  supposed  to  be  re- 
viewing some  of  his  troops,  who  marched  past  within 
a  couple  of  yards  of  him,  headed  by  their  bands,  all 
playing  different  tunes,  European-Oriental  and  Oriental- 
European  at  the  same  time.  The  soldiers  might  have 
stepped  out  of  an  Opera  Comique,  the  filing  past  was 
endless  ;  the  Shah  sat  like  the  automaton  of  a  king. 

When  the  review  was  over  I  wandered  about  the 
streets.     The  world  was  no  longer  grey.     The  sun  of 


4. 


~^ 


Tartar  Tribesmen  from  the  north  of  Pe 


rsia 


FIRST  GLIMPSES  OF  TEHERAN  5 

the  East  had  transmuted  it,  but  I  could  not  see  in  the 
people  the  type  of  beauty  for  which  Persia  is  a  proverb. 
The  reason  was  not  far  to  seek :  I  soon  learned  that  in 
the  north  of  Persia  there  are  very  few  Persians.  The 
average  inhabitant  of  these  provinces  is  a  mixture  of  Turk 
and  Turkoman,  with  very  little  Persian  in  him.  These 
northern  people  do  not  even  dress  like  Persians.  Since 
the  Kajar  dynasty  came  into  power,  the  national  costume 
has  been  replaced  by  ugly  frock-coats  with  full  gathered 
skirts.  In  the  crowd  were  a  number  of  the  black 
phantoms ;  they  were  true  daughters  of  Eve,  some  of 
them,  for  they  lifted  the  white  veils,  which  hung  over 
their  faces,  a  little,  to  watch.  But  no  torturing  of  my 
imagination  could  poetise  creatures  as  void  of  form  as 
the  earth  on  the  day  of  its  creation. 

As  I  was  going  back  to  the  hotel — guessing  my  way, 
because  I  could  not  ask  anybody — I  was  suddenly  pushed 
aside  by  odd-looking  men  in  gold-laced  scarlet  liveries 
and  caps  with  cockatoo  crests  made  of  peacock's  feathers. 
They  were  the  Skater — i.e.  the  runners  who  precede 
the  carriage  of  the  Shah — and  soon  I  saw  His  Majesty  in 
a  landau,  surrounded  by  troops,  on  his  way,  as  I  after- 
wards learned,  to  pay  his  annual  visit  to  the  Grand  Vizier. 
I  made  a  bow,  and  was  rather  astonished  at  his  not 
answering  it.  He  glared  at  me  without  moving.  I 
learned  in  time  that  I  ought  to  be  very  gratified,  for  that 
it  was  a  great  condescension  for  the  Shadow  of  God  to 
lower  his  eyes  to  regard  any  human  being.  In  Persia  he 
never  answers  a  salute  in  public. 


6         QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

Every  year  on  his  birthday  the  Shah  honours  the 
Grand  Vizier  with  a  call.  It  is  a  great  honour  for  the 
Vizier,  but  a  very  expensive  one,  because  first  of  all  he 
has  to  welcome  the  King  of  Kings  with  a  present  of 
gold  coins,  which  cannot  be  less  than  a  thousand  pounds, 
and  sometimes  mounts  to  two  or  three  thousand.  And 
secondly,  the  entire  suite  of  the  Shah  help  themselves  to 
anything  they  fancy  (which  is  everything  they  see). 
Knowing  this,  the  Grand  Vizier  has  of  course  put  all 
his  valuables  away,  and  only  very  cheap  things,  bought 
for  the  purpose  (as  at  London  sales),  are  left  about  for 
these  locusts. 

The  Grand  Vizier  considers  these  visits  as  a  sort 
of  tax,  and  takes  them  very  well.  It  is  not  everyone 
who  comes  out  of  them  so  well.  Sometimes  when 
the  Shah  thinks  he  may  do  a  good  bargain  he  goes 
and  pays  a  visit  to  a  very  rich  man.  The  present  is 
discussed  in  advance  by  chamberlains ;  and  some 
functionaries  have  been  nearly  ruined  by  the  condescen- 
sion of  the  sovereign. 

With  the  night  came  my  first  experience  of  the 
Arabian  Nights :  I  was  invited  to  an  evening  party 
given  by  the  Grand  Vizier  to  celebrate  the  birthday  of 
the  Shah. 

His  palace  stands  in  the  new  part  of  Teheran,  near 
the  English  and  French  Legations,  in  the  middle  of  a 
park,  between  two  huge  artificial  lakes  of  formal  shapes ; 
it  is  two  storeys  high,  built  of  a  kind  of  marble  brought 
from   the    mountains   of   Elbruz,  and  erected  from   the 


FIRST  GLIMPSES  OF  TEHERAN  7 

designs  of  a  Frenchman  living  in  Teheran,  who, 
without  being  an  architect,  has  transformed  all  the 
new  architecture  of  the  town.  It  is  surrounded  by 
colonnades  and  verandahs.  All  the  park  was  en- 
chantingly  illuminated  with  a  profusion  of  fairy  lights 
of  all  colours  and  Japanese  lanterns,  and  even  the 
lakes  were  covered  with  arabesques  of  these  lights. 
It  was  a  really  fairy-like  sight.  A  grand  sweep  of 
steps  took  us  to  the  first  floor,  where  the  reception 
rooms  were.  They  were  huge  and  gorgeous ;  all  the 
walls  were  covered  with  panels  of  Japanese  silk 
embroideries,  but  the  curtains,  as  well  as  the  chairs 
and  sofas,  were  Early  Victorianly- European.  As  a 
European,  I  felt  ashamed  to  see  how  ugly  these 
things  of  ours  looked  in  the  company  of  the  marvellous 
carpets  and  embroideries  of  the  East.  Still  there  were 
not  very  many  European  things  in  such  bad  taste  as 
you  might  expect  to  see  in  rich  Oriental  establish- 
ments, for  the  Grand  Vizier  is  a  man  of  good  taste. 

On  some  of  the  tables  were  really  beautiful  sets  of 
chessmen,  made  of  ivory  and  other  valuable  substances, 
on  boards  of  crimson  and  white — real  works  of  art, 
brought  from  Japan.  They  were  not  the  only  things 
which  showed  what  a  taste  for  Japanese  things  the 
Vizier  had,  for  the  fireworks,  which  brought  the  party 
to  a  conclusion,  were  specially  imported  from  Japan. 

These  reception  rooms  were  crowded  with  Persian 
officials  in  gorgeous  cashmere  shawls  with  ornaments 
of  precious   stones,  mingled  with  the   diplomatic  corps 


8         QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

in  their  gold  -  laced  uniforms,  and  a  few  European 
ladies,  amongst  whom  only  the  minority  were  up-to- 
date  in  their  costumes,  because  fashions  take  several 
years  to  find  their  way  to  Persia.  There  were  several 
orchestras  in  the  garden  and  in  the  rooms,  none  of 
them  using  native  instruments  or  music ;  they  were 
military  bands,  and  they  played  our  music  strictly  in 
their  own  way. 

A  few  Europeans  were  dancing ;  the  Persians  looked 
on  with  astonishment,  mixed  with  a  little  Eastern 
contempt  for  the  dancers,  because  they  cannot  imagine 
anyone  dancing  unless  he  is  hired  to  do  it.  Dancing 
in  Persia  is  not  an  amusement  but  a  trade.  There 
was  much  walking  about  and  talking  and  intriguing 
going  on,  because  it  is  a  good  opportunity  to  meet 
people.  Even  diplomats  do  not  forget  that.  It  was 
more  of  a  spectacle  than  anything  else. 

There  was  a  buffet  and  a  supper,  served  in  the 
European  fashion,  and  the  Grand  Vizier  took  a  vast 
deal  of  trouble  as  host  and  hostess,  for  naturally  no 
Persian  woman  appears  at  a  public  gathering.  The 
servants  were  not  so  gorgeous  as  one  would  expect. 
They  were  scarcely  noticeable,  being  dressed  in  very 
dark  and  plain  Persian  frock-coats,  and  standing  about 
they  would  be  taken  for  guests  if  it  were  not  for  their 
humble  looks  and  folded  hands. 

It  was  a  unique  sight ;  even  with  these  touches  of 
Europe  I  could  not  but  think  of  the  Arabian  Nights, 
especially  when  I  retired  to  the  balcony  to  watch   the 


FIRST  GLIMPSES  OF  TEHERAN  9 

fireworks.  The  skies  themselves  made  the  greatest 
display  with  their  own  fireworks — the  stars — and  they 
seemed  to  be  in  competition  with  the  illuminations 
of  the  gardens.  I  was  gazing  at  stars  above  and 
stars  below,  when  suddenly  in  the  distance,  on  the 
top  of  the  fortifications,  some  of  the  most  astounding 
effects  that  fire  has  ever  been  able  to  produce  kept  us 
in  breathless  admiration. 

It  was  on  a  night  like  this  a  few  years  ago,  when 
the  fete  was  at  its  height,  that  a  courier  from  the 
Shah  brought  to  the  same  Grand  Vizier  in  the  same 
palace  a  letter  from  His  Majesty.  It  began  with 
words  of  thanks  :  "His  Majesty  expresses  his  gratitude 
to  the  man  who  helped  him  to  ascend  the  throne,  and 
who  has  governed  the  country  so  well  since  that  time." 
But  it  added  that  the  cares  of  State  must  have  been 
so  heavy  for  him  that  a  little  rest  would  do  him  good, 
and  that  he  had  better  go  and  spend  some  time  in  the 
country. 

The  Grand  Vizier  understood  what  it  meant.  He 
was  dressed  in  a  pearl  embroidered  shawl  robe,  and 
wore  in  his  belt  the  calamdan  (in  which  the  Persian 
carries  his  pen  and  ink)  of  gold,  enamelled,  and  encrusted 
with  precious  stones,  which  are  the  insignia  of  his  office 
and  rank.  He  took  these  off  and  sent  them  back  to  the 
Shah,  and  picking  up  his  seal,  which  was  a  sort  of  seal 
of  State,  broke  it.  The  crowd  did  not  know  what  was 
happening.  Only  a  few  Ministers,  amongst  whom  were 
the  British  and  the  Russian,  had  been  apprised  of  it,  and 


10        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

they  promised  their  protection  to  the  fallen  Vizier,  who 
knew  what  had  been  the  fate  up  to  that  time  of  all  the 
dismissed  Viziers — death. 

No  consideration  would  have  made  him  drink  a  cup 
of  coffee,  or  even  a  glass  of  water. 

One  of  the  entertainments  of  the  present  evening 
was  listening  to  a  phonograph  which  had  just  been 
sent  to  the  Grand  Vizier  as  a  present.  He  was  very 
keen  about  it,  and  himself  superintended  the  manage- 
ment. He  had  all  the  principal  ladies,  amongst  them 
the  wife  of  the  English  Minister,  arranged  on  sofas  in 
front  of  it.  First  he  put  on  a  laughing  song,  which  the 
Europeans  as  well  as  the  Persians  enjoyed  very  much. 
It  was  not  the  same  with  the  next  song,  a  French 
music-hall  ditty  of  a  decidedly  improper  character.  The 
ladies  were  obliged  to  smile  out  of  politeness  to  the 
Grand  Vizier.  Their  efforts  to  conceal  their  fear  of 
what  might  come  next — and,  in  fact,  was  coming — 
were  a  much  better  play  than  you  generally  get  in 
Persia. 

About  two  the  fete  was  over,  and  very  Occidental 
and  broken-down-looking  cabs  were  waiting  to  take  us 
from  that  Oriental  palace. 

I  entered  the  hotel  in  a  very  different  mood  from 
the  night  before  :  I  had  lifted  a  little  corner  of  the  veil 
of  the  magnificent  East. 


Tomb  of  Shahzadeh  Houssein  in  Kasvin. 


CHAPTER   II 

LEARNING    TO    SPEAK   AND    WRITE    PERSIAN 

Mirza-A  li-Akbar 

One  of  my  first  occupations  was  to  learn  Persian,  of 
which  I  had  the  average  insignificant  knowledge  that 
one  achieves  after  having  studied  it  a  little  in  Europe. 
As  I  consider  that  the  first  thing  to  do  towards  learning 
a  language  is  to  cultivate  the  ear,  I  made  an  arrangement 
with  a  Mirza  (a  title  given  to  all  people  who  can 
read  and  write,  like  the  clerks  of  the  Middle  Ages) 
to  come  every  day  to  read  Persian  stories  aloud  to  me 
for  two  hours.  He  was  a  Persian  of  the  Gulf  or  from 
the  border  of  Balouchistan,  and  had  spent  several  years 
in  India  ;  he  had  rather  a  military  appearance  and  wore  a 
military  cap,  and  I  believe  my  servants  gave  him  a  military 
title — called  him  Captain,  or  something  of  the  kind. 
But  the  connection  was,  I  believe,  purely  imaginary. 
The  most  military  thing  that  I  noticed  about  him  was  his 
punctuality  :  that  very  often  made  me  furious.  He  came 
regularly  at  eight  o'clock,  and  after  having  said  good- 
morning,  in  Persian  and  in  English,  he  sat  down  on  the 
floor  near  my  bed,  and  began  to  read  in  a  loud   and 

distinct  voice.     At  first  I  listened  without  understanding 

11 


12       QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

a  word ;  but  little  by  little  words  struck  me,  because  they 
recurred  very  often,  and  then  I  asked  the  meaning,  and 
if  it  happened  by  a  lucky  chance  to  be  one  of  the  words 
the  Mirza  knew  in  English,  I  was  sure  never  to  forget 
its  meaning. 

After  a  month  of  that  cultivation  of  my  ear,  I  began 
to  read  with  the  man  stories  for  little  children  in  a  nice 
little  book,  bought  in  the  bazars,  with  pictures  of  a 
primitiveness  that  made  it  a  sort  of  guess-work.  I 
saved  several  months'  work  by  the  fact  that  I  could 
read  and  write  Arabic  characters,  which  the  Persians 
have  used  since  the  Mussulman  conquest. 

My  next  and  more  interesting  exercise  was  to  learn 
by  heart  pieces  of  poetry.  The  first  was  a  poem  by 
Sa'di  from  the  Gulistan. 

After  three  months  of  that  impressionist  teaching, 
when,  thanks  to  the  Mirza,  I  knew  enough  Persian  to 
make  myself  understood  with  great  difficulty,  I  committed 
the  ingratitude  of  thanking  him  and  taking  another  teacher. 
One  of  the  excuses  I  gave  myself  was  that,  being  an 
opium-smoker,  he  frightened  me  ;  he  had  such  an  alarming 
vagueness  in  his  ideas  and  in  his  wandering  eye.  His 
successor,  Mirza  Ali  Akbar,  had  the  supreme  merit  of 
being  a  true  Persian,  born  in  Shiraz,  the  City  of  the  Poets. 
He  had  a  very  poetical  turn  of  mind.  He  was  small 
and  delicate,  not  only  in  build  but  in  manners ;  and 
had  a  fine  aquiline  nose,  piercing  black  eyes,  a  drooping 
moustache  and  a  little  beard,  carefully  cut  and  shorn, 
with  the  edge  made  more  regular  by  plucking. 


LEARNING  TO  SPEAK  PERSIAN        13 

He  wore  the  national  Persian  robes,  and  had  always 
in  his  belt  a  calamdan  for  his  pens  and  ink,  and  a  little 
roll  of  paper  to  write  on. 

His  mind  was  quite  open,  and  he  had  not  that 
loathing  for  Christians,  that  feeling  of  disgust  for  their 
uncleanness,  which  generally  characterise  the  Shiites. 
And  though  he  did  not  know  much  about  it,  he  had  a 
certain  admiration  for  Europe.  He  was  a  man  of  fifty, 
married,  and  the  father  of  a  family ;  a  fact  which  he 
never  mentioned,  probably  because  he  only  had  daughters. 
His  striking  personality  made  me  take  a  great  liking 
to  his  company ;  I  engaged  him  to  come  every  day, 
and  was  glad  to  find  him  in  my  house  every  time  that 
I  returned  to  it.  He  also  went  for  walks  with  me, 
explaining  to  me  many  Persian  customs  and  telling  me 
the  names  of  things  as  we  passed  them  and  of  the  trees 
and  flowers,  for  which  he  had  the  love  of  a  true  Persian. 
He  generally  carried  a  bunch  in  his  hands,  and  very 
often  when  he  came  he  brought  me  some  flowers,  an 
apple,  a  pomegranate,  or  a  lime  from  his  native  town, 
which  enjoys  the  highest  reputation.  This  was  to 
express  welcome. 

Though  the  appointments  of  that  learned  man  pro- 
bably did  not  bring  him  over  four  pounds  a  month,  he 
was  always  well  dressed  and  smoked  good  cigarettes. 

The  first  book  we  translated  together  was  the  Diary 
of  Nasr-ed-din  Shah's  travels  in  Europe.  It  was  very 
curious  and  interesting  to  me  to  observe  how  the  Persian 
sovereign  looked  at  our  customs ;  and  I  could  not  help 


14        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

smilincr  when   I   saw  Gladstone  called  a  Vizier,  or  the 
Kaiser  a  Padishah. 

I  took  down  dictation  every  day,  to  learn  the  Persian 
spelling  and  to  improve  my  writing.  Mirza  Ali  Akbar 
used  to  invent  stories  in  which  difficult  words  that 
he  wanted  me  to  learn  occurred  often — an  excellent 
method. 

To  write  Persian  is  quite  an  art,  and  since  writing 
there  has  as  much  value  as  a  picture,  and  even  more,  it 
may  fairly  be  classed  among  the  arts. 

The  apparatus  consists,  firstly,  of  a  calamdan — a  long, 
narrow  box  with  a  drawer  in  it  such  as  children  use  for 
pencils  in  England,  painted  with  brilliant  designs  in 
lacquer.  At  one  end  of  it  is  a  little  ink-pot  and  in  it 
are  the  calam,  the  reeds  which  they  use  as  pens,  a  pair 
of  scissors  to  cut  the  paper,  and  a  little  piece  of  Indian 
ink.  Secondly,  of  a  roll  of  stiff,  thick  shining  paper 
looking  almost  like  parchment. 

The  first  thing  to  learn  is  how  to  cut  the  calam  Into 
a  pen.  The  Persians  still  use  that  primitive  pen  with 
which  we  are  familiar  in  the  Bible — the  reed.  When 
you  start  a  new  one,  it  is  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick 
and  eight  inches  long ;  but  as  you  cut  it  like  a  pencil, 
it  grows  shorter  every  day.  And  learning  to  cut  it 
is  like  learning  to  tie  an  evening  tie — you  spoil  many 
before  you  succeed. 

The  next  thing  to  know  is  how  to  prepare  the  ink. 
It  is  rubbed  with  water  in  a  saucer  and  poured  into  the 
ink-pot. 


LEARNING  TO  SPEAK  PERSIAN        15 

The  third  thing  is  how  to  cut  the  paper.  Persians 
attach  great  importance  to  this  :  they  cut  it  the  exact 
length  they  require.  They  are  as  particular  about  this 
as  the  English  are  about  paper  and  envelopes  matching. 

The  fourth  thing  is  how  to  hold  the  paper  and  the 
pen,  because  there  are  no  tables  in  Persia,  and  they 
write  on  their  hands.  The  paper  is  held  in  a  half 
cylinder,  and  as  the  Persians  write  from  right  to  left  they 
let  the  paper  unfold,  and  when  they  come  to  about  an 
inch  and  a  half  from  the  left-hand  edge  they  let  the  line 
take  a  bold  curve  upwards.  They  always  leave  a  good 
margin  on  the  right-hand  side,  and  if  they  have  not 
calculated  the  length  of  their  page  well,  they  end  the 
letter  by  writing  on  the  margin,  upside  down  or 
diagonally.  But  they  never  use  the  back  of  the  page,  i 
because  that  would  smudge  the  writing  when  it  is  re-  / 
versed,  being  Indian  ink. 

When  a  Persian  wishes  to  erase  something  he  has 
written,  he  does  not  scratch  it  out,  he  licks  it  off  with 
his  tongue. 

The  average  Persian's  writing  is  terribly  difficult  to 
read,  very  different  from  print,  for  he  forgets  to  put  in 
the  points  which  constitute  the  difference  between  the 
letters.  So,  since  there  is  no  punctuation  in  Persian, 
reading  an  ordinary  letter  is  pure  guess-work,  and  few 
Europeans  ever  achieve  it. 

Of  course,  Persians  have  no  blotting-paper ;  they 
have  not  even  got  so  far  as  using  the  sand  pepper- 
box.    They  often   embellish  their  writing   by  inserting 


16        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

words  in  red  ink.  They  do  not  sign  their  letters,  but 
use  a  seal,  and  instead  of  sealing  the  foot  of  the  letter 
they  put  the  date  at  the  foot  and  then  lick  the  paper  at 
the  back  of  the  date  and  impress  their  seal  on  it.  They 
rub  the  ink  into  the  seal  with  the  finger.  They  press 
the  paper  into  the  seal  like  an  antiquarian  taking  a 
rubbing  from  a  brass. 

The  Persians  knew  nothing  of  envelopes  until  they 
were  introduced  from  Europe  a  few  years  ago.  Their 
letters  used  to  be  folded  and  fastened  with  a  wafer. 


CHAPTER  III 


MY    HOUSE    IN    TEHERAN 


Europeans  live  in  a  special  quarter,  which  was  built  in 
the  time  of  Nasr-ed-din,  in  the  north-eastern  part  of  the 
town. 

First  of  all  a  few  Legations  were  built  in  the  Street 
of  the  Legations,  which  takes  its  name  from  them. 
Little  by  little  houses  for  Europeans  were  erected  by- 
Persians,  as  no  European  can  own  any  property  in 
Persia  outside  of  the  Legations.  There  were  very  few 
houses  to  let.  And  it  was  only  with  considerable 
difficulty,  and  after  seeing  several  horribly  uncom- 
fortable places,  that  I  settled  in  a  little  house  belonging 
to  one  of  the  servants  of  the  British  Legation.  He  was 
one  of  the  gholams  of  the  Legation — a  sort  of  groom 
who  rides  in  front  of  the  carriage. 

It  was  in  a  very  narrow  cul-de-sac,  up  which  no 
carriage  could  pass,  because  a  little  stream  was  running 
down  the  centre  with  trees  on  each  side  of  it.  There 
were,  of  course,  no  windows  opening  on  the  street.  The 
house  was  entered  through  an  arched  gateway,  paved 
with  cobble-stones  and  built  of  red  brick,  which  had  a  thick 
wooden  door  studded  with  nails.     The  stable  adjoined  the 


18        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

gateway  on  the  right,  and  on  the  left  there  was  a  room  for 
the  guards ;  behind  there  was  a  square  paved  courtyard 
with  flower-beds  let  into  it  round  the  fountain  in  the 
centre.  It  contained  a  few  acacia  trees  and  many  roses. 
It  had  a  graceful  colonnade  on  one  side,  with  a  sitting- 
room  leading  off  it.  There  were  other  rooms  round  the 
courtyard,  all  of  about  the  same  size  and  all  equally 
uncomfortable  and  inconvenient,  they  were  so  long 
and  narrow,  and  consisted  chiefly  of  French  windows, 
which  went  down  to  the  floor,  and  fitted  so  badly  that  the 
wind  and  the  rain  came  in.  On  one  side  a  little  staircase 
led  down  to  the  zirzamin  or  summer  apartment,  faced  by 
the  aba77ibar  or  cistern,  where  the  water  is  stored,  which 
comes  down  from  the  mountains  in  subterranean  conduits 
and  is  distributed  twice  a  week. 

Although  there  is  no  real  danger  for  Europeans  in 
Teheran,  it  is  the  custom  to  have  soldiers  guarding  their 
houses.  I  adopted  the  custom,  and  instructed  the  Mirza 
Ali  Akbar  to  go  and  ask  the  colonel  of  the  Karaouls 
to  send  me  four  men,  and  make  a  contract  with  him. 
This  may  appear  pompous,  but  it  is  not  so  really.  It  is 
an  inexpensive  luxury,  for  the  Karaouls  receive  only  one 
toman  a  month  each,  a  toman  being  four  shillings,  and 
you  have  to  give  up  to  them  only  the  room  built 
specially  for  the  purpose  at  the  door,  which  in  my  house 
was  in  front,  corresponding  to  the  stables.  This  room 
was  rather  large,  but  its  aspect  was  uninviting,  it  was  so 
like  the  dwelling  of  a  troglodyte,  with  its  walls  of  mud, 
its    ceiling    consisting    only    of    rough    beams    which 


(A, 

3 
O 


3 
U 

C 


c 

J 

<u 
•a 

u 

a 

+j 

3 

u 


MY  HOUSE  IN  TEHERAN  19 

supported  the  roof,  blackened  by  smoke  and  hanging 
with  cobwebs.  Only  one  little  porthole,  high  up  in  the 
wall,  shared  with  a  low  door  the  honour  of  lighting  this 
den.  The  porthole  not  only  admitted  light  and  air,  it 
also  let  out  the  smoke.  The  room  had  no  proper  floor, 
but  just  the  unlevelled  ground. 

I  said  to  the  Mirza,  "  You  must  offer  another  room  to 
these  poor  men  ;  I  have  several  rooms  that  I  don't  use." 

But  he  answered,  "  They  would  much  prefer  the  one 
that  was  designed  for  them ;  they  will  find  it  more  com- 
fortable and  warmer "  ;  and  he  added  that  it  would  be 
safer  for  me  to  keep  them  as  far  as  possible  from  my 
own  apartments,  and  not  even  allow  them  to  enter  the 
courtyard  of  the  house.  These  precautions  appeared  to 
me  at  first  excessive,  for  I  felt  full  of  compassion  for 
these  primitive  men,  who  certainly  had  not  excited  my 
admiration  at  the  review  of  the  Shah,  where  I  first  saw 
them,  and  where  they  cut  such  a  sorry  figure,  in  spite  of 
the  new  uniforms  which  had  been  lent  to  them  by  their 
chief  for  the  occasion  only — about  half  a  day.  How- 
ever, when  they  came  I  was  quite  of  the  Mirza's  opinion. 
It  is  almost  impossible  to  express  the  mean  appearance 
of  these  poor  creatures.  They  were  small,  ugly,  and 
dirty  in  their  once  brown  uniforms,  now  all  frayed  and 
in  holes,  made  of  a  stuff  of  the  same  family  as  sack- 
cloth. The  collars  and  facings  were  red  ;  the  buttons 
gilt,  with  a  worn-out  Lion  and  Sun — called  in  Persian 
Shir-o-Khourshid.  On  their  heads  they  wore  felt  kolahs, 
the  colour  of  mud,  ornamented  in  front  with  a  huge  brass 


20        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

Lion  and  Sun.  The  bulk  of  their  heads  were  shaved, 
leaving  two  long  locks  behind  the  ears.  They  had  belts 
of  black  leather,  with  long  daggers  hanging  from  them 
right  in  front  where  the  buckle  should  be.  Their  rifles 
were  slung  on  their  right  shoulders,  and  their  boots  were 
giveh — sandals  of  white  linen.  The  ages  of  these  four 
soldiers  varied  from  twenty  to  fifty  —  one  could  not 
imagine  anything  less  martial ;  but  these  men,  with  such 
a  feeble  and  emaciated  appearance,  were  charged  to 
protect  my  person  and  my  goods  against  dangers  which 
were,  happily,  problematical. 

They  brought  with  them,  as  their  equipment,  quilted 
coverlets  and  gillims,  a  sort  of  felt  carpets,  for  their  beds. 
For  their  cookery  they  had  earthenware  pipkins,  the 
samovars  for  their  tea,  and  a  few  bowls  and  plates. 

I  understood  at  once  the  object  that  there  was  in 
keeping  them  as  far  as  possible  from  my  apartments. 
They  appeared  quite  satisfied  with  the  physical  comforts 
of  their  room,  and  went  of  their  own  accord  to  install 
themselves.  I  will  say  to  their  credit,  that,  apart  from 
the  disagreeable  smell  which  exhaled  from  their  dwelling, 
and  which  obliged  me  to  hurry  when  I  passed  under  the 
gateway,  I  had  seldom  to  complain  of  them.  It  is  just 
to  add  that  I  never  had  any  occasion  to  praise  them,  for 
they  rendered  not  the  slightest  service,  had  no  picturesque- 
ness,  no  colour,  except  that  of  dirt,  and  even  the 
monotonous,  subdued  droning  that  they  chanted  in  the 
evening  lacked  the  charm  suggestive  of  far  mysterious 
and  savage  countries  which  one  would  have  had  a  right 


MY  HOUSE  IN  TEHERAN  21 

to  expect.  They  belonged  to  a  Turkish  tribe  of  the 
mountains  of  Azerbeijan,  and  could  speak  only  their 
own  dialect.  Not  a  single  word  of  Persian  had  been 
able  to  lodge  in  their  memories  in  the  many  years  they 
had  been  quartered  in  Teheran ;  anything  nearer  brutes 
could  not  be  imagined.  They  had  probably  some  job  in 
town  to  increase  their  income,  but  there  were  always  one 
or  two  at  home  to  keep  an  eye  on  the  pot  and  present 
arms  with  much  noise  every  time  that  I  crossed  the 
threshold. 

I  never  succeeded  in  penetrating  the  secret  of  their 
life,  though  it  was  so  close  to  mine  ;  perhaps  it  had  no 
secret  at  all.  Their  cooking,  anyhow,  had  some,  and  I 
never  tried  to  find  it  out.  Whilst  passing  I  made  out 
in  the  obscurity  in  the  middle  of  the  room  a  little  pipkin 
upon  a  fire  of  dry  dung,  which  emitted  an  acrid  and 
disagreeable  smoke.  This  was  under  the  vacant  gaze  of 
a  Karaoul,  sitting  cross-legged  and  smoking  his  chibouk. 
To  the  marmite  succeeded  the  samovar — for,  like  every- 
body in  Persia,  the  Karaoul  drinks  a  quantity  of  tea. 
They  had  to  find  themselves  in  food. 

And  this  is  all  I  know  about  these  beings,  made  in 
God's  image,  who  kept  watch  on  my  life.  I  tried  vainly 
to  take  the  interest  in  them  that  I  should  have  taken  in 
watch-dogs. 

Karaouls  also  perform  the  functions  of  police  in  the 
streets.  At  every  important  point  of  the  city  there  are 
Karaoul- Khaneh,  a   kind  of  watch-houses,  like  police- 


22        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

stations,  full  of  them.  During  the  night  they  interrogate 
the  passers-by  as  to  what  they  are  doing  and  where  they 
are  going,  and  in  certain  parts  of  the  town  a  password 
is  required  after  the  sunset.  Europeans  are  exempt  from 
these  vexations ;  they  enjoy  every  liberty,  and  if  the 
Karaouls  see  them  alone  in  the  streets  at  night,  they 
escort  them  to  their  houses,  without  asking  if  they  require 
it,  in  the  hope  of  getting  a  tip. 

On  a  beautiful  night  of  spring,  when  I  was  coming 

back  alone  on  foot  from  a  ball,  wishing  to  get  a  little 

fresh  air  and  some  exercise,   I  heard  behind  me  rapid 

footsteps.     Rather  afraid  of  being  pursued  by  one  of  the 

many  madmen  who  are  allowed  to  go  free  in  all  the  lands 

of  Islam,  I   quickly  crossed  the  avenue  and  walked  near 

the  wall.     The  shadow  changed  its  direction,  and  fled 

towards  me ;  and  I  saw,  shining  upon  the  darkness,  the 

blade  of  a  curved  scimitar.     I  immediately  took  guard 

with  my  stick,  and  was  prepared  to  sell  my  life  dearly, 

when  I  was  struck  by  the  immobility  of  the  shadow  with 

the  scimitar.     I  was  more  convinced  than  ever  that  it  was 

a  madman,   and  grew  very  nervous.     I   did  not  know 

what  to  do,  when  I  heard  the  shadow  speak  the  Turkish 

dialect,  with  hoarse,  but  polite  intonations,  and  I  realised 

that  it  was  only  a  Karaoul.     I  continued  my  walk  home. 

The  shadow  escorted  me  with  a  drawn  scimitar  to  my 

door,  but  did  not  get  any  tip,  for  he  had  killed  all  the 

poetical    charm    of    my    walk    through    that    exquisitely 

constellated  night  of  spring. 


Lazes  of  the  Caucasus. 


CHAPTER    IV 

THE   QUESTION    OF    SERVANTS 

When  I  set  about  providing  myself  with  a  servant,  I 
had  one  procured  for  me  by  an  attach^  to  the  Turkish 
Embassy.  As  I  had  acquired  a  smattering  of  Arabic 
during  my  stay  in  Tunis  and  Egypt,  he  recommended 
me  a  Turkish  subject  knowing  that  language,  who  had 
just  arrived  in  Teheran. 

He  was  a  Syrian,  named  Omar,  who  had  gone  to 
Egypt  as  a  camel-driver's  boy,  and  then  been  employed 
in  Cairo  to  sweep  the  floor  of  a  dancing  den,  where 
he  was  noticed  by  a  person  of  a  religious  character, 
who  engaged  him  to  go  as  his  servant  to  Mecca. 
After  having  endured  many  fatigues  and  privations 
and  much  ill-treatment,  he  got  to  the  Holy  City 
with  the  caravan  that  brought  from  Cairo  the  Makmal, 
a  sacred  carpet  sent  annually  from  Egypt  to  cover 
the  Kaaba.  There  his  master  refused  to  give  him 
any  wages,  so  he  had  to  help  himself  by  stealing 
little  trifles  belonging  to  him,  after  which  he  fled  to 
Jeddah.  As  he  feared  that  he  would  be  caught  by 
the  Turkish  police,  he  thought  it  would  be  safer  to 
engage    himself    as    a    stoker    on     a    ship    that    was 

23 


24        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

leaving  for    India   and    the    Persian    Gulf.     This   took 
him  to  Bushire. 

Allah  knows  how  he  managed  to  get  to  Teheran 
without  starving.  As  the  name  of  Omar  is  hated  in 
Persia,  he  took  that  of  Ali — it  was  natural  for  Ali  to 
follow  Omar,  as  Ali  was  the  successor  of  Omar  in  the 
Caliphate — and  in  order  to  avoid  the  contempt  of  the 
Shiite,  he  concealed  his  Sunnite  religious  feelings,  and 
even  cursed  Omar  now  and  then  to  avert  suspicion. 

In  Teheran,  while  passing  the  entrance  to  an  imposing 
house  in  the  avenue  of  the  Legations,  he  exercised  his 
knowledge  of  spelling  in  reading  the  Arabic  inscription 
at  the  top  of  the  arch,  and  found  out  that  this  was  the 
seat  of  the  Safir — the  Ambassador  of  the  Commander 
of  the  Faithful,  his  own  sovereign.  A  feeling,  if  not 
of  patriotism,  of  pride  at  belonging  to  the  country  so 
grandly  represented,  recalled  to  his  mind  that  he  was 
a  Turk.  So  he  crossed  the  gateway,  resumed  his  name 
of  Omar  and  his  Sunnite  connections,  and  asked  for 
protection.  The  shabbiness  of  his  garments  caused  him 
to  be  refused  admission.  But  he  remained  at  the  gate 
until  one  of  the  attendants  of  the  Chancellery  conde- 
scended to  listen  to  what  he  had  to  say.  It  happened 
that  just  at  this  moment  I  had  been  asking  if  I  could 
find  a  servant  who  could  speak  Arabic. 

He  was  a  curious  servant,  but  full  of  willingness,  and 
took  my  corrections  so  pleasantly  that  I  could  not  be 
angry  with  him. 

After  a  few  weeks  he   told    me  he  had  to  go  back 


THE  QUESTION  OF  SERVANTS         25 

to  his  country,  and  that  his  Embassy  was  going  to  give 
him  the  money  to  pay  his  expenses.  The  only  thing  I 
could  do  was  to  ask  him  to  find  me  a  successor,  which 
he  effected  by  bringing  me  one  of  his  Persian  friends. 

He  did  not  tell  me  that  the  applicant  had  never  been 
a  servant  before,  but  only  a  tailor's  apprentice. 

He  then  left  me  and  went  to  Resht.  Some  time 
afterwards  I  heard  that  he  had  assumed  there  the  rank 
and  the  uniform  of  a  colonel.  I  never  could  find  out 
what  decided  him  to  strike  out  in  this  line.  But  thanks 
to  it,  he  succeeded  in  marrying  a  widow  with  some 
money ;  and  I  daresay  that  he  is  now  quite  a  personage 
in  that  city  by  the  Caspian. 

His  successor,  Hassan  the  tailor,  arrived  just  when 
I  was  getting  into  my  house,  but  it  was  not  long  before 
I  discovered  that  he  was  no  good  as  a  servant.  He 
could  only  strike  respectful  attitudes  and  sew  on  buttons. 
Whenever  there  was  anything  very  material  to  be  done, 
he  burst  into  poetry. 

This  imposed  such  limitations  on  his  services — as  the 
most  neglected  wardrobe  can  only  require  a  certain 
number  of  buttons  to  be  sewn  on — that  I  had  to  deprive 
myself  of  his  unique  services.  When  I  broke  the  news  to 
him  he  appeared  quite  indignant,  and,  bursting  into  tears, 
exclaimed,  "  But  what  will  become  of  me  now  that  I 
have  been  eating  your  salt  for  such  a  long  time,  and 
am  driven  out  into  the  streets  ?  What  am  I  to  do  ? 
Where  am  I  to  go  ? " 

When    I    reminded   him    that   he   had  only  been  a 


26        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

fortnight  with  me,  he  answered,  "  I  feel  as  if  I  had 
been  with  you  for  years." 

"  But,"  I  said,  "you  are  no  good." 

"How  can  I  be  no  good  after  having  stayed  with 
you  ?  Can  you  forget  what  Sa'di  said  ? — '  A  piece  of 
clay  having  fallen  in  the  Havimmn  from  my  beloved's 
hand  into  mine,  I  said  to  it,  "  Art  thou  musk  or  ambergris 
that  I  am  drunk  with  thy  perfume,  which  catches  at  the 
heart?" — It  answered,  "I  was  but  a  worthless  piece  of 
clay,  but  I  was  in  the  company  of  the  rose  for  a  moment. 
This  companionship  transformed  me,  or  else  I  should 
still  be  the  same  piece  of  clay  that  I  was."'" 

After  such  an  argument,  I  could  not  do  less  than 
keep  him  for  a  week  more — a  week  in  which  I  dis- 
covered that  if  he  was  a  poet,  he  was  also  a  thief. 

I  missed  my  silver  cigarette  case,  and  I  was  almost 
certain  he  had  stolen  it.  I  called  for  him  and  told  him, 
looking  him  straight  in  the  eyes,  that  the  silver  cigarette 
case,  which  was  on  such  and  such  a  shelf,  had  fallen 
behind  the  book-case.  "  You  will  find  it  before  to-night 
...  or  I  shall  have  to  ask  the  police  to  come  and  look 
for  it."  And,  to  my  relief,  it  was  on  the  shelf  when  I 
returned. 

But  that  had  awakened  my  suspicions.  When  he  was 
out,  I  went  to  visit  the  servants'  quarters,  and  I  noticed 
near  the  petroleum  keg  a  bottle  full  of  liquid.  I  easily 
guessed  that  that  bottle  went  home  with  him  every  night 
to  fill  the  lamps  of  his  family ;  so  I  emptied  it  into 
the  keg  and  filled  it  with  water,  without  saying  a  word. 


THE  QUESTION  OF  SERVANTS         27 

When  he  went  away  that  night,  I  visited  his  room  to 
make  sure  that  the  bottle  had  gone  with  him,  and  two 
days  afterwards  I  asked  him  how  the  lamps  had  been 
burning  in  his  house.  He  began  by  being  astonished,  then 
blushed,  then  laughed,  saying,  **The  Sahib  is  very  clever." 

After  I  had  got  rid  of  him,  I  asked  the  head  servant 
of  the  Legation  to  find  me  a  good  servant,  and  he  said 
he  had  a  nephew  who  was  just  leaving  his  situation.  I 
took  him  instantly.  His  name  was  Abd-Oullah ;  he 
belonged  to  a  sect  called  Ali-Oullahi,  a  Mohammedan 
sect,  who  have  mysteries  in  which  fire  plays  an  important 
part.  Their  high  priest  is  said  to  conjure  with  it  and  to 
seat  himself  on  it. 

At  the  same  time  I  engaged  as  a  valet  Mehmed, 
who  had  been  serving  in  a  European  household. 
Contrary  to  the  custom,  he  had  a  written  character, 
which  was  most  satisfactory,  which  proved  to  be  nearly 
true,  as  Mehmed  was  as  good  a  servant  as  Persia  can 
produce,  and  he  remained  with  me  till  I  left  the  country. 
When  he  bought  things  for  me,  he  only  took  a  reasonable 
percentage  for  himself,  perhaps  25  per  cent,  never  more 
than  50  percent,  which  is  considered  honest  in  a  country 
where  servants  are  accustomed  to  making  it  100  per 
cent,  before  it  is  considered  dishonest.  For  there  is  a 
code  of  honour  which  limits  depredations,  and  a  man 
who  exceeds  that  limit  would  be  considered  a  thief  even 
by  his  own  countrymen. 

The  youth  of  Mehmed  had  been  severely  tested 
with  hardships ;  he  had  the  spirit  of  adventure  which 


28        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

distinguishes  his  countrymen,  who  do  not  hesitate  to 
try  anything  to  succeed  in  Hfe.  A  Persian  will  leave 
his  native  place  and  travel  great  distances,  but  he 
hardly  ever  goes  beyond  the  borders  of  the  sacred 
soil  of  Persia,  though  he  often  goes  to  places  of 
which  he  knows  nothing  except  what  he  has  heard  in 
exaggerated  descriptions.  He  will  lend  his  services  as 
servant  to  be  taken  in  the  suite  of  someone  going 
there,  or  will  follow  a  caravan,  and  thus  make  the 
journey  without  spending  any  money.  Usually,  when 
he  has  arrived  at  the  place  of  his  dreams,  the 
inevitable  disappointment  succeeds.  Being  a  stranger, 
he  is]  ill  received,  and  robbed  in  the  caravanserai 
where  he  has  put  up.  Realising  his  position,  he  then 
thinks  of  finding  some  fellow -townsmen,  and  makes 
inquiries  as  to  what  quarter  or  caravanserai  they 
patronise — for  everyone  of  the  same  town  flocks 
together.  And  then,  after  a  fine  show  of  friendship 
and  effusive  greetings,  they  set  to  work  to  rob  him 
of  whatever  he  has  left.  They  have,  however,  the 
grace  to  feed  him,  because  they  could  not  allow  their 
fellow-townsman  to  die  of  hunger.  This  he  repays  by 
rendering  them  little  services. 

If  he  is  intelligent,  agreeable,  and  witty,  he  will 
readily  be  taken  as  a  hanger-on  without  wages,  and 
his  patron  will  keep  him,  feed  him,  and  give  him  his 
old  clothes.  After  this  first  step  into  society,  he  usually 
finds  various  other  situations,  now  climbing,  now  de- 
scending in  the  social  scale. 


THE  QUESTION  OF  SERVANTS  29 

But  if  everything  goes  wrong,  he  at  length  thinks 
of  going  back  to  his  native  place.  If  he  has  neither 
money  nor  friends,  it  will  be  still  more  difficult  to  find 
a  traveller  or  a  caravan  to  accompany ;  and  this  was 
the  fate  of  Mehmed,  who,  having  been  told  marvels 
about  Meshed,  went  there  and  did  not  succeed.  To 
work  his  return  to  Teheran,  he  could  only  find  a  very 
poor  Charvadar,  who  authorised  him  to  sit  on  his 
tarentass  (cart)  on  the  condition  of  helping  him  to 
take  care  of  his  horses,  but  would  not  find  him  in 
food.  Mehmed  had  then  more  than  once  to  eat  clay 
in  the  course  of  his  journey  to  fill  his  stomach  and 
appease  his  hunger ;  and  if  he  went  to  sleep  during 
the  journey,  the  Charvadar  woke  him  brutally,  on  the 
pretext  that  he  was  heavier  when  he  slept. 

Compared  to  this,  the  wage  I  gave  him  must  have 
seemed  princely,  for  I  always  paid  my  servants  far  too 
much  in  my  ignorance,  as  I  gave  them  ten  tomans  a 
month  (two  pounds),  whilst  the  ordinary  servants  of 
the  French  Legation  only  received  three  or  four  tomans, 
and  the  natives,  of  course,  paid  them  less. 

On  that  they  had  to  feed  themselves.  Their  meals 
were  very  simple,  and  consisted  chiefly  of  bread  and 
cheese,  varied  now  and  then  with  pilaw.  They  drank 
water  and  tea.  The  Persian  will  take  tea  all  day  long  ; 
it  does  not  cost  him  much  more  than  a  farthing  a  cup. 

They  slept  in  the  house  in  a  room  without  furniture ; 
their  beds  consisted  of  a  piece  of  felt  with  a  quilt  on  the 
top,  which  they  brought  with  them. 


80        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

Abd-Oullah  and  Mehmed  hated  each  other,  and,  as 
I  remembered  the  axiom  of  Augustus — divide  in  order 
to  govern — I  did  not  do  anything  to  bring  them  together. 
I  had  soon  to  congratulate  myself  on  that  policy ;  it 
may  have  saved  my  life. 

One  day,  for  example,  when  I  was  lunching  out,  word 
was  brought  to  me  that  my  servant  Mehmed  was  waiting 
at  the  door  with  a  very  important  message  for  me. 
Quite  astonished,  I  went  out,  and  he  told  me  that  his 
colleague  Abd-Oullah  had  brought  a  girl  into  my  house, 
which  was  consequently  surrounded  by  a  raging  mob. 

I  felt  frightened,  for  I  remembered  all  I  had  been 
told  about  Europeans  being  threatened  with  death  for 
affairs  with  Mussulman  women.  My  first  idea  was  to 
go  and  ask  the  advice  of  the  native  secretary  of  our 
Legation  as  to  the  best  way  to  get  out  of  the  situa- 
tion. I  found  him  at  his  house,  and  when  I  had 
explained  the  situation  to  him,  I  saw  from  his  per- 
plexity that  it  was  a  dangerous  and  important  situa- 
tion. The  first  thing  he  told  me  was  not  to  enter 
my  house  on  any  pretext  before  I  was  sure  that  the 
woman  had  left.  He  came  with  me,  and  as  we 
approached,  we  noticed  the  crowd  filling  the  street, 
gesticulating  furiously.  But  my  presence  in  the  street 
astonished  them.  They,  of  course,  thought  that  I  was 
within.  I  sent  Mehmed  into  the  house  to  order 
Abd-Oullah  to  come  out  and  bring  the  woman. 
Abd-Oullah  came  out,  and,  Persian-like,  said,  "But 
there   is   nobody  here.     You   can   come   up  and   see." 


A  Persian  Mosque. 


THE  QUESTION  OF  SERVANTS  31 

But  when  he  saw  the  crowd,  he  understood  that  his 
lie  was  useless,  and  he  began  to  tremble  and  beg  my 
pardon.  I  said,  "  Bring  out  the  woman."  While  he 
was  fetching  her,  the  native  secretary  explained  to  me 
that  we  must  protect  that  woman,  for,  after  all,  she 
had  done  me  no  wrong,  and  if  she  were  left  to  the 
mercies  of  the  mob,  she  would  be  beaten,  and  Allah 
knows  what. 

I  acquiesced,  and  when  the  shrinking  phantom  made 
its  appearance,  the  native  secretary  went  up  to  her 
furiously,  and  said,  "I  am  going  to  take  you  to  the 
police."  His  rage  was  simulated  to  satisfy  the  mob  ; 
but  as  soon  as  he  had  dragged  her  away,  he  let  her 
go,  and  she  fled  away,  thanking  him. 

The  reason  why  the  mob  was  so  furious  is  because 
Christians  are  impure  —  and  the  foulest  Mussulman 
courtezan  is  so  defiled  by  the  touch  of  the  best  Christian, 
that  she  must  die  unless  the  man  turns  Mussulman  on 
the  spot. 

To  show  the  intensity  of  feeling  on  the  subject,  I 
may  quote  the  instance  of  a  Frenchman  who  had  started 
a  manufactory  of  carpets  in  Kurdistan.  In  that  part  of 
Persia  morals  are  not  so  strict.  He  fell  in  love  with  a 
beautiful  young  carpet-weaver.  Marriage  being  im- 
possible between  Christians  and  Mohammedans,  she 
became  his  mistress,  and  no  objection  was  raised  in 
the  country.  But,  being  called  by  his  business  to 
Teheran  for  a  long  time,  as  he  did  not  want  to  be 
parted  from  her,  and  as,  at  the  same  time,  he  was  well 


32        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

aware  of  the  fanaticism  of  the  capital  upon  this  point, 
he  conceived  the  idea  of  dressing  her  as  a  boy,  and 
she  v/as  taken  for  his  servant  by  people.  All  went  well 
until  her  figure  began  to  betray  her,  and  a  servant  who 
had  a  grudge  against  his  master  happened  to  notice 
it.  He  went  straight  to  a  Mollah  to  tell  him  the 
scandal :  this  Mollah  jumped  at  the  chance  of  dis- 
tinguishing himself,  spread  the  news  that  an  infidel 
had  outraged  the  sacred  law  of  Islam  by  casting  his 
eyes  upon  a  Mussulman  woman,  and  that  the  guilty 
pair  must  die. 

A  crowd  rapidly  surrounded  him,  and  he  marched  at 
their  head  to  the  house  of  the  accused.  The  crowd 
thundered  at  the  gate.  But  in  Persia  gates  are  strong, 
and  there  are  no  windows  giving  on  the  street ;  so, 
before  they  could  batter  their  way  in,  the  two  culprits 
had  had  time  to  make  their  way  up  to  their  roof,  and 
fly  along  from  roof  to  roof  until  they  arrived  at  the 
house  of  the  Moujtehid,  the  chief  priest  of  Teheran, 
who  explained  to  him  that  the  only  way  to  save  the 
life  of  the  girl  and  himself  was  to  turn  Mussulman  ; 
that  in  this  case  he  would  protect  him,  but  that  in 
the  other  case  he  would  be  the  first  to  draw  the  dagrorer. 
In  the  face  of  such  an  argument,  there  was  nothing  else 
to  be  done,  brave  as  the  Frenchman  was. 

To  his  credit  be  it  said  that  he  remained  a 
Mussulman.  They  had  several  children,  now  in  good 
positions  in  Teheran,  one  of  them  being  married  to 
a  princess  of  the  Imperial  house. 


CHAPTER  V 


HORSES    AND    SPORT 


Riding  is  not  only  a  sport  in  Persia,  but  a  necessity; 
and  as  I  am  very  fond  of  horses,  I  lost  no  time  about 
stocking  my  stables.  I  bought  a  Karabagh  horse,  very 
like  an  English  hunter ;  it  had  the  beautiful  arched  neck 
and  sweeping  tail  which  the  Persians  esteem  so  highly. 
It  was  about  the  size  of  a  polo  pony,  and  was  quite 
as  clever.  I  also  bought  a  horse  for  Abd-Oullah. 
This  horse  was,  of  course,  of  a  stronger  build,  not  so 
well  bred.  Ordinary  horses  are  very  cheap  in  Persia, 
but  a  choice  animal  with  a  good  pedigree  fetches  a 
high  figure.  I  do  not  say  "pedigree."  All  horses 
there  have  pedigrees — a  copy  of  it  is  attached  to  the 
plaits  of  its  mane  when  the  animal  is  sold. 

My  stable  {tavileh)  was  a  huge  room  with  holes 
in  the  wall  in  the  shape  of  a  "  V  "  to  act  as  mangers. 
The  horses  were  tethered  by  the  hind  leg  to  a  ring  in 
the  floor  by  a  hobble  made  of  goat's  hair.  They  were 
not  fed  in  the  same  way  as  they  are  in  Europe :  no 
oats  were  given  to  them  ;  they  had  barley  instead,  which 
was  mixed  with  chaff,  called  in  Persian  kah,  cut  in 
lengths  of  about  two  inches.  It  was  given  to  them 
3 


34        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

twice  a  day,  about  two  pounds  in  the  morning  and 
three  in  the  evening.  Nor  did  they  have  any  hay, 
but  as  much  of  this  kak  as  they  could  consume. 

Every  year  for  one  month  in  spring  they  were 
given  green  fodder.  This  is  called  sabzi,  and  is  either 
clover  or  young  barley  cut  and  at  first  mixed  with  kah, 
the  quantity  of  which  was  diminished  gradually  till  it  was 
entirely  eliminated.  The  same  thing  happened  with  the 
barley,  which  little  by  little  was  also  omitted. 

The  horses  were  very  fond  of  that  diet.  To  cut  this 
sabzi  the  grooms  used  a  sickle,  a  very  primitive  tool, 
whose  handle  they  put  between  their  knees  after  seat- 
ing themselves  in  the  Persian  way.  They  cut  it  three 
or  four  inches  long. 

Abd-Oullah  asserted  that  eating  this  green  fodder 
made  the  horses'  teeth  blunt.  This  is  why,  when  the 
end  of  the  diet  came,  he  introduced  into  the  sabzi  a 
little  wet  kah  and  barley  that  he  had  steeped  in  water 
some  hours  before  to  make  it  soft,  in  order  that  the 
teeth  of  the  horse  might  not  be  tried.  All  Persians  do 
this,  so  there  must  be  some  reason  for  it. 

Then  the  diet  began  again  in  the  other  direction,  till 
he  grave  no  more  sabzi. 

In  certain  parts  of  the  country  where  grapes  are 
abundant,  the  diet  of  sabzi  is  varied  with  a  diet  of 
raisins.  The  result  of  these  diets,  whether  it  benefits 
the  health  or  not,  is  to  make  the  horses  grow  fat. 

During  that  time  they  have  to  be  indulged,  and 
worked  very  little ;  Abd-Oullah  only  allowed   me  very 


HORSES  AND  SPORT  35 

short  rides  at  a  walking  pace.  That  complicated  our 
spring  picnics  a  good  deal.  We  were  obliged  to  go 
to  the  gardens  nearest  the  town,  for  all  the  horses  of 
the  city  were  under  the  treatment  at  the  same  time. 

There  is  no  straw  litter  for  horses  in  Persia ;  it  is 
made  of  dung  previously  dried  in  the  sun.  This  makes 
a  very  soft,  if  not  very  fragrant,  bed.  Every  day  it  is 
taken  out  and  put  back  in  the  evening,  arranged  like 
a  parterre  round  the  horse. 

With  Persian  servants  your  horses  have  to  take 
their  meals  in  your  presence ;  otherwise  the  servants 
sell  the  barley.  At  first,  after  I  had  seen  the  barley 
given  to  the  horses,  I  used  to  go  away,  but  as  I  noticed 
that  the  horses  were  growing  weak  and  stumbled,  my 
suspicions  were  awakened.  So  once  I  made  a  pretence  at 
departure  and  came  back  a  few  minutes  after  the  barley 
had  been  given  :  the  horse  was  just  picking  up  the  last 
grains,  but  the  confusion  of  Abd-Oullah  when  I  looked 
straight  at  him  showed  me  that  something  wrong  was 
going  on,  and  I  examined  the  premises.  At  length 
I  espied  in  a  dark  corner  a  little  sack  containing  the 
barley  of  which  he  had  robbed  the  horse  the  moment 
I  had  departed ;  it  was  going  to  be  sold.  In  Persia 
this  offence  Is  too  ordinary  to  be  considered  a  reason 
for  dismissal. 

The  horses  are  very  much  wrapped  up  In  Persia. 

The  horse  is  first  enveloped  in  the  pirhan,  2l  coat 
of  wool,  which  covers  it  completely.  It  is  crossed  on  the 
chest.     On  the  top  of  it  is  put  ihejouly  a  covering  of  the 


36        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

same  shape  as  the  pirhan  but  of  a  harder  stuff,  and  often 
lined  with  felt.  Then  the  horse  is  covered  with  a  named 
of  felt,  bigger  than  the  other  coverings,  which  it  hides 
completely.  It  is  long  enough  to  cover  the  neck  and 
the  head,  but  is  only  used  for  this  when  the  horse  sleeps 
out  of  doors — as  all  horses  do  in  the  summer ;  at  other 
times  the  named  is  turned  over  on  the  back  of  the  horse. 
The  named  is  three-quarters  of  an  inch  thick ;  it  is  of 
a  dark  khaki  colour  and  made  of  the  same  felt  that 
is  used  for  carpets  in  the  tents  of  the  nomads,  and  for 
the  head-gear  of  peasants,  which  is  called  kolah  namedy. 

In  Persia  horses  are  ridden  very  young.  An 
Asp-i-noh-zin  horse  new  to  the  saddle  is  barely 
two  years  old.  In  consequence  they  age  quickly. 
When  their  teeth  are  in  a  bad  state  they  are  fed  with 
navalla,  made  of  barley  flour  and  water  rolled  into 
balls.  These  navalla  are  also  used  in  the  journeys 
across  desert,  barley  flour  being  less  bulky  than  the 
barley  itself,  and  the  food  being  more  digestive  and 
nourishing.     It  is  also  the  ordinary  food  of  camels. 

The  Shah  has  in  all  the  principal  provinces  of  Persia 
important  stud  stables,  at  which  the  best  breeds  of  horses 
are  raised.  There  is  also  one  in  Teheran  which  is  under 
the  administration  of  the  Mirakhor  {\.ox^  of  the  Manger) 
— a  sort  of  Master  of  the  Horse. 

The  Shah  often  makes  a  present  of  a  horse.  He  gives 
a  written  order  on  the  Mirakhor,  in  which  the  value 
of  the  horse  presented  is  indicated.  But  the  Mirakhor 
generally  takes  no  notice  of  that,  and  sends  a  horse  of 


HORSES  AND  SPORT  37 

no  value ;  and  you  have  to  make  a  handsome  present  of 
money  to  the  man  who  brings  it.  These  presents  of  the 
Shah  are  often  burdens  rather  than  advantages  for  the 
people  who  are  not  powerful  enough  to  awe  the  Mirakhor. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  races  are  a  notable 
institution  in  Persia,  The  Shah  himself  takes  a  great 
interest  in  them,  and  has  many  horses  trained  for  them 
every  year. 

To  train  horses  for  racing,  Persians  keep  them  from 
sleeping ;  they  load  them  with  blankets  and  nameds  to 
sweat  them,  and  they  are  ridden  by  little  boys  who  never 
let  them  stop  still,  but  walk  them  about  all  day  long. 
This  regime  makes  them  thin  very  rapidly. 

The  races  are  a  Court  function.  The  Shah  and  all 
the  court  are  always  present,  and  so  are  the  Diplomatic 
body  and  the  other  most  influential  foreigners. 

The  meeting  takes  place  at  the  back  of  the  castle  of 
Dowshantepeh.  Marquees  are  erected  lined  with  hand- 
some velvets  and  silks.  That  of  the  Shah  himself  is  red 
outside.  It  is  erected  on  the  top  of  a  little  natural  rise 
of  stones. 

His  Majesty  sits  in  an  arm-chair  with  a  telescope, 
like  an  admiral's,  whilst  all  his  court  is  standing  behind, 
except  the  Grand  Vizier,  who  stands  by  his  side.  They 
have  to  stand  thus  for  several  hours. 

The  horses,  instead  of  running  short  distances  as 
they  do  in  Europe,  run  sometimes  ten  or  fifteen  miles, 
which  makes  the  race  very  dull  and  as  difficult  to  follow 
as  a  yacht  race.     This  is  why  dancers  and  musicians 


38        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

are  performing  in  front  of  the  Shah  during  the  race. 
As  soon  as  the  horses  have  passed  the  Royal  tent  in  each 
lap,  the  dancers  begin  again,  though  occasionally  the 
Shadow  of  God  takes  a  squint  through  his  telescope  at 
the  progress  of  the  race. 

When  the  horses  are  coming  round  at  the  last  lap, 
everyone  gets  frantically  excited,  though  it  is  always  a 
horse  belonging  to  the  Shah  which  wins.  Men  with 
sticks  are  waiting  near  the  winning  post  to  stop  any 
other  horse  which  threatens  the  legitimate  result. 

If  by  any  chance  they  fail  to  stop  it,  the  unfortunate 
owner  is  obliged  by  etiquette  to  present  the  horse  to  His 
Majesty,  in  order  that  the  winner  may  belong  to  the  Shah 
in  the  orthodox  way.  When  the  winning  horse  nears 
the  Shah's  tent,  he  turns  and  climbs  the  platform  into  the 
Royal  presence. 

One  wonders  how  they  manage  the  betting.  After 
the  meeting  is  concluded,  there  is  a  highly  picturesque 
procession  of  horsemen  and  camel-riders  back  to  the  town. 
There  is  a  general  rush,  like  we  have  at  the  end  of  our 
races ;  but  in  Persia  the  crowds  are  lost  in  such  clouds 
of  dust  as  could  hardly  be  seen  elsewhere. 

Good  horsemanship  is  common  in  Persia.  Not  only 
does  the  national  disposition  of  the  Persian  contribute  to 
this,  but  also  the  way  in  which  the  babies  are  carried 
pick-a-back  by  their  mothers.  This  strengthens  the 
muscles  of  their  legs  and  gives  them  a  fine  grip.  Even 
amonor  the  lower  classes  it  is  more  than  rare  to  find  a 

o 

bad  horseman,  and  a  pi'iori  among  the  upper  classes. 


a 

V 

f- 

c 
a 

£ 
■fi 

O 


u 

a 


a 

u 

k 


...dJt^ 


HORSES  AND  SPORT  39 

This  is  why  they  cannot  understand  a  foreigner  of 
position  who  is  sent  by  his  sovereign  to  represent  him — 
or,  to  take  the  Persian's  point  of  view,  sent  as  a  "hostage 
to  the  Shah  " — not  being  able  to  ride. 

Once  the  secretary  of  a  Legation,  who  was  a  bad 
horseman,  was  riding ;  when  trying  a  timid  gallop  on  a 
stony  road,  his  horse,  which  he  was  not  keeping  well  in 
hand,  stumbled  on  a  loose  stone  and  sent  him  flying  over 
his  head  on  to  the  ground. 

A  crowd  gathered  round  him,  jeering.  His  Persian 
servant,  who  was  riding  behind  him,  dismounted,  and,  full 
of  confusion — for  his  master's  humiliation  was  reflected  on 
him — helped  him  to  get  up,  and  addressed  a  few  words  to 
his  fellow-countrymen. 

When  they  had  resumed  their  ride,  this  time  at  a 
slow  trot,  the  servant  said  to  his  master,  "  Don't  be 
afraid,  sir.  I  have  arranged  everything  so  that  no  shame 
may  fall  upon  your  head.  I  said  to  the  Persians  who 
saw  you  fall  that  you  were  a  splendid  horseman,  like  all 
your  countrymen,  but  that  you  were  drunk  to-day." 

The  horse  enters  into  the  life  of  the  Persians  as  much 
as  the  Arabs.  Many  of  their  stories  prove  this.  Abd- 
Oullah  had  a  favourite  story  about  the  sheik  of  a  tribe 
of  Arabistan,  a  province  of  Southern  Persia,  who  had  a 
very  remarkable  breed  of  horses.  His  most  beautiful 
mare  disappeared  one  day,  he  could  not  find  out  how, 
and  he  was  inconsolable. 

His  daughter,  a  rare  beauty,  with  eyes  like  a  gazelle, 
was  loved  by  a  young  man   of  a  neighbouring  tribe. 


40        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

Beauties,  even  among  the  nomad  tribes,  are  never 
allowed  to  be  seen,  but  the  fame  of  their  charms  is 
bruited  abroad  by  the  women,  and  men  fall  in  love  with 
the  idea.  In  this  instance  the  young  man  was  more 
fortunate  :  he  found  the  means  to  make  advances  to  her, 
which  were  well  received.  But  the  father  would  not 
consent  to  the  marriage.  They  therefore  plotted  to- 
gether, and  the  young  man  carried  her  off  on  his  saddle- 
bow. But  they  were  discovered  and  pursued  by  the 
sheik  and  his  men,  who  could  not  overtake  the  fugitives, 
whose  mount  was  exceedingly  swift,  and  who  were  soon 
out  of  sight. 

After  a  long  search,  the  sheik  learned  that  this 
wonderful  animal  was  the  mare  that  had  been  stolen 
from  him  for  the  purpose  of  the  elopement.  Then  he 
was  quite  pleased,  for  he  could  never  have  survived  the 
shame  of  his  favourite  being  beaten  even  by  another  of 
his  own  horses.  So  he  sent  envoys  to  the  young  man 
and  made  peace  with  him,  and  asked  as  the  price  of 
his  paternal  blessing  the  return  of  the  mare,  to  whom 
he  attached  far  more  value  than  to  his  daughter. 

The  new  Shah,  like  all  his  ancestors,  is  devoted  to 
hunting  and  shooting.  He  showed  this  when  he  was 
governor  at  Tabriz,  where  he  had  excellent  shooting, 
even  bears. 

Now  he  will  have  the  advantage  of  the  magnificent 
shooting  grounds  where  his  grandfather  spent  so  much 
of  his  time. 

Amongst  the  best  places  for  shooting  in   Persia  is 


HORSES  AND  SPORT  41 

Jaje  Roud,  on  the  road  to  Meshed-i-sar,  In  the  foothills 
of  the  Elbruz  mountains,  three  hours  from  Teheran. 
It  is  a  hunting  box.  The  house  is  situated  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  river  Jaje  (Roud  means  river),  on 
an  eminence,  and  is  surrounded  by  outbuildings  for  the 
suite.  The  whole  countryside  is  strictly  preserved  ;  only 
the  Shah  and  his  guests  ever  hunt  or  shoot  in  this 
demesne.  There  only  can  be  found  a  species  of  game 
that  none  but  His  Majesty  is  permitted  to  shoot.  This 
sacred  game  is  the  francolin,  a  bird  introduced  from 
Arabia.  It  is  so  difficult  to  acclimatise  there,  that  the 
Shah  himself  often  forbears  to  shoot  it. 

The  principal  game  at  Jaje  Roud  are  the  bouquetin 
and  moufflon.  Both  are  very  shy  and  difficult  to 
approach.  Beaters  are  sent  in  all  directions,  and 
often  several  days  pass  before  a  herd  of  them  is 
sighted. 

While  waiting,  His  Majesty  shoots  commoner  game, 
such  as  wild  boars,  or  hares,  but  without  much  interest, 
as  they  are  so  numerous ;  their  meat  being  impure  and 
prohibited  by  the  Koran,  they  are  left  where  they  are 
killed,  like  rabbits  in  Australia. 

For  the  moufflon  the  Shah  and  his  suite  post 
themselves  behind  the  rocks  on  an  eminence  on  the  side 
away  from  the  wind  commanding  a  gorge.  The  beaters, 
who  are  on  horseback,  have  to  drive  the  game  very 
cautiously  in  order  not  to  frighten  them  too  much,  for 
the  moufflon  are  extraordinarily  active,  and  might  break 
back   if  desperate.     When   the   moufflon   come   within 


42        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

range  the  Shah  shoots  first ;  then,  a  few  seconds  after, 
everybody  else  fires  at  the  same  time,  ....  and  the 
moufflon  go  away. 

Foxes  are  also  to  be  found  in  these  districts,  and  a 
few  panthers  and  leopards.  The  Shah  hunts  the  latter 
like  foxes  and  with  great  intrepidity.  When  in  the 
chase  a  panther  takes  refuge  in  a  cave,  a  courtier,  eager 
to  win  the  Shah's  favour,  dashes  in  at  the  risk  of  his  life 
to  drive  it  out.  When  a  panther,  or  even  a  moufflon, 
is  killed,  the  Shah  always  has  his  photograph  taken 
beside  it. 

In  the  plains  round  Teheran  the  Shah  goes  out 
hawking.  It  is  a  very  picturesque  sight,  reminding 
one  of  the  Middle  Ages  in  Europe,  when  Frederic 
of  Hohenstaufen,  "the  Wonder  of  the  World,"  rode 
out  with  his  falconers  in  the  Conca  d'Oro  of 
Sicily. 

There  are  several  sorts  of  falcons :  the  very  large 
ones  for  coursing  gazelles — these  are  almost  eagles ;  the 
middle-sized  falcons  are  used  for  coursing  herons,  cranes, 
and  hares ;  another  kind,  a  little  smaller,  are  used  for 
partridges ;  and  there  are  small  ones  used  for  quail. 
These  last  have  a  unique  feature — in  order  to  make 
them  swoop  straighter,  their  own  tails  are  taken  out  and 
replaced  by  longer  feathers  taken  from  the  tail  of  a  wild 
hawk,  bluish  in  colour,  which  gives  them  a  most  extra- 
ordinary appearance. 

The  game  coursed  with  falcons  in  the  plains  round 
Teheran  are  chiefly  a  red-plumaged  partridge  and  little 


HORSES  AND  SPORT  43 

grey  ones  called  by  the  curious  name  of  tihou,  from 
their  cry,  like  the  English  peewit. 

Greyhounds  are  used  for  coursing  of  another  kind. 

The  aristocratic  and  wealthy  Persian  is  a  great 
sportsman. 


CHAPTER    VI 

THE    STREETS    OF    TEHERAN 

Teheran  does  not  offer  as  much  interest  as  many 
other  Persian  towns,  because  it  is  virtually  a  new  town. 
There  is  not  an  ancient  monument  in  the  whole  city. 
In  spite  of  having  been  given  the  rank  of  city  by 
Shah  Tahmasp,  the  second  of  the  Sefavi  dynasty,  it 
has  only  really  been  a  city  since  Agha-Mohammed, 
founder  of  the  present  Kajar  dynasty,  established  his 
residence  in  Teheran  in  1795.  Since  it  is  not  far 
from  the  mountains  of  Khorassan,  and  upon  the  road 
to  his  native  country,  Asterabad,  which  he  could  easily 
reach  in  case  of  danger,  this  town  offered  the  best 
guarantees  for  his  safety. 

Six  sovereigns  have  reigned  there :  Agha-Moham- 
med (1795 -1797);  Fath  AH  Shah  (1797-1834); 
Mohammed  Shah  (1834-48);  Nasr-ed-din  Shah  (1848- 
96);  Muzaffer-ed-din  (1896-1907) ;  and  Mohammed  Ali 
Shah,  the  present  sovereign.  All  of  his  predecessors 
have  contributed  to  its  embellishment,  but  it  is,  above 
all,  Nasr-ed-din  who  must  be  considered  the  Haussmann 
of  Teheran.  He  constructed  numerous  edifices,  and, 
without  damaging  its    picturesque  old  quarter,   built  a 


THE  STREETS  OF  TEHERAN  45 

quarter  in  the  European  fashion,  with  large  avenues 
planted  with  trees.  The  trees  of  the  avenues  have 
quite  a  character  of  their  own,  because,  instead  of  being 
planted  regularly  like  ours,  they  are  dotted  about,  with 
their  roots  running  down  to  a  conduit  of  rapidly  flowing 
water.  The  effect  is  charming,  for  the  variety  of  species 
gives  an  impromptu  effect  to  the  curtain  of  verdure 
which  conceals,  very  happily,  the  mud  walls  without 
windows  that  form  the  background  of  every  Persian 
street. 

Teheran,  however,  earned  the  title  of  capital  during 
the  Afghan  invasion  and  under  the  reign  of  the  later 
Sefavi  kings.  But  that  was  of  such  short  duration,  and 
during  such  a  troublous  period,  that  nothing  of  any 
importance  remains  of  the  Sefavi  city. 

Going  farther  back,  one  finds  it  mentioned  in  the 
seventeenth  century  by  Pietro  della  Valle  (1618),  an 
Italian  traveller,  who  calls  it  the  City  of  the  Planes, 
because  of  the  quantity  of  these  trees,  whose  tops  rise 
above  every  part  of  the  town.  He  says  there  is  no 
edifice  or  any  other  object  worthy  of  remark.  It  is  also 
mentioned  by  Sir  Thomas  Herbert  (1627). 

Mirza  Ali  Akbar,  of  whom  I  asked  some  particulars 
about  the  history  of  Teheran,  made  me  translate  the 
following  passage  from  an  old  Persian  chronicler,  who 
speaks  in  this  way  of  the  inhabitants  of  Teheran  :  "  They 
dwell  in  subterranean  houses  like  caves.  When  the 
enemy  invades  the  country,  they  conceal  themselves  in 
these  places  of  refuge,  from  which   it  is  impossible  to 


46        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

expel  them,  even  if  they  are  blockaded  for  several  con- 
secutive days.  As  soon  as  the  invaders  have  departed, 
they  come  out  of  their  hiding-places,  and  begin  to 
pillage  and  assassinate  on  the  roads.  They  are  con- 
stantly in  a  state  of  insurrection  and  revolt  against  their 
sovereign. 

"  There  are  in  this  district  twelve  hamlets  always  at 
war  one  with  the  other.  When  they  seem  ready  to 
obey  the  Sultan,  the  governor  assembles  the  chiefs  of 
the  district  to  ask  them  to  pay  the  tribute.  If  they 
consent,  one  brings  a  cock,  the  other  a  hen,  and  they 
say,  there  is  the  value  of  a  dinar.  And  that  is  the  only 
way  in  which  they  pay  tribute. 

**  They  labour  in  the  fields  with  a  mattock  or  hoe, 
instead  of  oxen,  because  they  fear  that  the  tax  collector 
would  take  these  animals  away.  It  is  for  the  same 
reason  that  they  never  use  any  beasts  of  burden. 
Their  country  is  very  fertile,  especially  in  fruits,  which 
are  of  such  beauty  that  their  equal  is  never  to  be  found 
in  other  countries." 

The  savageness  of  the  Teheranese  has  disappeared 
in  the  course  of  time,  and  the  fruits  have  lost  some 
of  their  reputation.  They  are,  however,  still  excellent, 
but  must  yield  the  palm  to  those  of  Ispahan. 

The  principal  avenue  of  modern  Teheran  is  the 
Khiaban-Ala-ed-Dowleh,  called  by  the  Europeans  Rue 
des  Legations,  which  begins  at  the  English  Legation 
and  ends  at  the  Meidan-i-Toup-Khaneh. 

This  place  is  not  so  imposing  as  it  appears  in  the 


c 

IS 


3 
u 


•a 
s 
u 
u 

a 

V 


4) 
C 
« 

D. 

O 


THE  STREETS  OF  TEHERAN  47 

illustration.  It  is  a  sort  of  junction  for  all  the  principal 
streets  of  the  new  quarter.  It  takes  its  name  from  the 
row  of  guns  which  surrounds  a  square  basin,  and  from 
the  presence,  in  one  corner  of  it,  of  the  arsenal  (Toup- 
Khaneh  in  Persian).  It  is  surrounded  by  buildings  like 
the  colonnades  of  an  Italian  piazza.  The  arcades  are 
in  two  storeys,  the  lower  closed  by  doors  like  coach- 
houses, the  upper  filled  with  windows  of  three  lights, 
contained  in  arches,  each  of  which  has  its  upper  part 
filled  in  and  painted  white  in  order  to  throw  up  the 
Persian  Lion  and  Sun,  in  yellow.  Each  column  is 
painted  a  different  colour,  without  the  slightest  attempt 
to  harmonise  them.  These  enormous  buildings,  used 
as  barracks,  are  almost  as  flimsy  in  their  materials 
as  the  pasteboard  palaces  of  an  exhibition.  The 
Minister  of  Public  Buildings  wanted  to  make  with 
them  an  impression  of  vast  expenditure  on  the  Shah 
to  cover  his  peculations. 

At  the  west  end  the  architecture  of  the  beautiful 
building  of  the  Bank  of  Persia,  covered  with  coloured 
tiles,  redeems  the  effect  of  the  square.  This  building  is 
one  of  the  most  charming  in  Teheran,  with  its  arcaded 
balconies  and  fantastic  gables 

It  is  on  the  Meidan-Toup-Khaneh  that  "civilisation" 
has  stamped  itself  most  strongly  of  anywhere  in  Teheran. 
Here  is  the  centre  for  tramways  and  cabs ;  here  are  the 
Imperial  bank  and  the  telegraph  ofiice  connected  with 
the  two  European  systems.  The  tramways  have  taken 
very  well   in    Teheran.     The  company  was  started  by 


48        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

Belgians,  who  bought  the  concession  from  a  Frenchman, 
M.  Boital. 

The  cabs  are  a  most  promiscuous  assemblage, 
broken-down  caleches  brought  from  Russia,  which  the 
Persians  call  caleskeh.  They  cost  two  krans  the  course 
— about  tenpence — if  it  does  not  take  more  than  an 
hour.  By  the  hour  costs  in  proportion.  The  caleskeji, 
or  coachmen,  are  dressed  like  Cossacks  —  probably 
because  they  are  generally  men  of  the  Caucasus. 

There  are  six  gates  to  the  Meidan-i-Toup-Khaneh  : 
one  for  the  Rue  des  Legations,  at  the  north-east ;  one 
at  the  north-west,  leading  to  Khiaban-i-Lalezar,  the 
Street  of  the  Tulips ;  one  at  the  east,  opening  on  to 
the  Meidan  Maksh,  or  Place  d'Armes ;  one  at  the 
south,  opening  into  the  Khiaban-Almasieh  (the  Street 
of  the  Diamonds) ;  one  at  the  south-west,  opening  into 
the  Khiaban  Nasserieh ;  and  one  at  the  west,  opening 
into  the  Khiaban  Shimran,  which  the  Europeans  called 
Rue  du  Gaz  because  the  gasworks  are  in  it. 

The  Meidan-i-Maksh  is  a  huge  square  surrounded 
by  walls  lined  with  arches  all  round  the  inner  face ; 
the  arches  have  no  apparent  use  but  decoration,  but 
they  really  act  in  place  of  buttresses ;  without  them  the 
wall,  being  built  of  mud,  would  collapse. 

In  the  centre  of  each  side  is  a  building  that  looks 
like  a  polo  pavilion — and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  polo  is 
played  in  this  square  by  the  English  residents.  But 
the  resemblance  is  only  accidental.  The  balconies  are 
for  watching  the  evolutions  of  the  military,  which  take 


THE  STREETS  OF  TEHERAN  49 

place  here.  Every  morning  the  soldiers  come  at  eight 
o'clock,  some  from  the  barracks,  but  the  majority  of 
them  from  their  own  dwellings.  For,  as  they  are  paid 
very  irregularly,  if  paid  at  all,  they  have  to  earn  their 
living  in  civilian  employments.  They  are  largely  butcher 
boys,  a  fact  which  perhaps  gives  them  the  most  valuable 
part  of  their  training. 

Many  also  are  money-changers. 

These  soldiers  keep  their  uniforms  in  their  places 
of  business,  and  wear  a  sort  of  dagger  in  front.  As 
the  uniforms  have  a  habit  of  coming  to  pieces,  they 
wear  ordinary  clothes,  generally  of  the  most  unmartial 
appearance,  under  or  over  them,  as  may  be  most 
convenient. 

Their  drill  is  under  the  exalted  supervision  of  a 
few  European  officers.  One  of  them  is  an  Austrian, 
Baron  Wagner  von  Wetterstead,  whose  huge  stiff 
mustachios,  rivalling  those  of  Nadir  Shah,  make  a 
great  impression  on  the  men.  Another  is  General 
Maletta,  an  Italian  who  has  been  in  the  Egyptian 
army.     The  uniform  these  officers  wear  is  Austrian. 

They  make  the  very  most  of  their  materials,  and 
drill  the  soldiers  in  the  European  way.  But,  as  might 
be  expected,  they  have  many  difficulties  to  contend 
with.  Still,  things  are  much  better  than  they  used 
to  be,  thanks  to  their  ability  and  earnestness.  Some 
of  their  predecessors  were  not  so  conscientious.  One 
of  them,  who  had  come  to  Teheran  without  having 
made  up  his  mind  as  to  what  employment  he  should 


50        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

demand  of  the  Shah,  was  a  man  of  superb  physique, 
a  great  athlete.  The  Shah  saw  that  he  must  be  a 
redoubtable  fighter,  and,  with  the  Persian  idea  of  the 
commander  of  an  army,  at  once  made  him  a  general 
solely  on  the  strength  of  his  physique.  He  was  thankful 
for  his  good  fortune,  and,  wishing  to  show  his  con- 
scientiousness, arrived  every  morning  dressed  in  a 
gorgeous  uniform  at  the  Meidan  Maksh,  drew  his 
sword  with  a  magnificent  sweep,  and  held  it  high  in 
the  air.  This  was  the  sign  for  the  bugle  to  sound 
the  assembly  and  the  drill  to  begin,  while  the  general 
ambled  round  the  square  looking  at  his  watch.  When 
it  was  ten  o'clock,  he  drew  his  sword  with  the  same 
grand  gesture,  the  bugle  sounded  again,  and  everybody 
went  home. 

After  several  years  of  this  severe  service,  the  Govern- 
ment gave  him  a  pension. 

The  character  of  the  instruction  makes  very  little 
difference  to  the  Persian  army,  for  the  only  soldiers 
who  are  worth  anything  are  wild  tribesmen,  who  use 
their  own  methods.  No  training  whatever  could  prevent 
the  average  Persian  soldier  from  being  a  coward  and 
running  away  at  the  first  hint  of  danger,  and  I  have 
always  wondered  how  Nadir  Shah  was  able  to  conquer 
India  with  such  men.  There  must,  of  course,  have 
been  large  numbers  of  Bakhtiaris,  Kurds,  and  Turko- 
mans, who  are  dashing  fighters,   in  his  army. 

There  is  an  anecdote  told  of  Nadir  Shah's  soldiers 
from   Kashan  and  Ispahan.     When  that  conqueror  led 


a 
z. 


o 

u 
3 

•n 
*•> 
a 

V 

u 

be 


c 
o 

V 

> 


E 


THE  STREETS  OF  TEHERAN  51 

his  victorious  army  back  from  India,  he  dismissed  to  their 
homes  thirty  thousand  men  belonging  to  these  districts. 
They  asked  for  an  escort  of  a  hundred  more  warlike 
soldiers  before  they  would  start.  "Would  to  God  I 
was  a  robber  again,"  said  the  scornful  emperor,  "that 
I  might  waylay  you  and  plunder  you." 

The  only  regiment  in  Teheran  which  counts  at  all, 
militarily  speaking,  is  a  regiment  of  Persian  Cossacks 
recruited  from  the  north  -  western  tribes  of  Persia, 
commanded  by  Russian  officers  and  wearing  the  same 
dress  as  the  Russian  Cossacks.  Their  chief  colonel, 
Kosakoffsky,  is  very  popular  in  Teheran.  Each  Lega- 
tion has  a  certain  number  of  men  of  this  regiment  as 
a  bodyguard. 

The  Shah  holds  reviews  in  the  Meidan  Maksh ; 
they  consist  of  parades  and  marches  and  feats  of 
horsemanship. 

One  of  the  Russian  colonels  of  Cossacks,  who  is  a 
remarkable  horseman,  once  had  the  unfortunate  ambition 
to  show  his  ability  at  a  review.  It  is  a  custom  with  the 
Cossacks  in  Russia  to  salute  the  personage  for  whom 
the  review  is  being  held  by  riding  up  at  full  gallop 
till  within  a  few  yards  of  him.  The  horse  is  then 
reined  up  sharply  and  stops  dead.  The  colonel  wished 
to  salute  the  Shah  in  this  way,  and,  going  to  the  end 
of  the  Meidan,  spurred  his  horse  into  a  gallop.  The 
Shah,  not  understanding  what  he  meant,  when  he  saw 
the  horse  thundering  at  him,  with  the  colonel  standing 
on  his  stirrups  and  whizzing  his  sword  round  his  head, 


52        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

thought  an  attempt  was  being  made  upon  his  life,  and 
ran  away.  The  chief  of  the  police  rushed  on  the 
officer,  who  hastened  to  explain  his  intentions ;  but 
the  Shah  never  could  get  over  a  feeling  of  nervous- 
ness when  he  saw  that  man,  who  was  shortly  afterwards 
replaced  by  Colonel  Kosakoffsky. 

It  is  in  the  Meidan  Maksh  that  executions  take  place. 
There  were,  as  far  as  I  know,  none  in  the  reign  of 
Muzaffer-ed-din,  except  that  of  the  murderer  of  his  father, 
who  was  hanged  on  a  gibbet  of  the  football-goal  pattern 
which  is  in  vogue  in  the  Orient — an  exceptionally  high 
gibbet,  where  the  executed  could  be  left  for  a  week  or 
more  as  an  example. 

The  Khiaban  Nasserieh  leads  to  the  bazar,  passing 
along  by  the  wall  of  the  palace.  On  the  right  stands 
the  Dar-ul-fonoun — the  Gate  of  Knowledge — the  Poly- 
technic School,  in  which  young  Persians  are  taught  all 
sorts  of  sciences  by  native  and  European  teachers.  It  is 
conducted  on  the  lines  of  the  French  polytechnic  schools. 
Everything  is  taught  there,  even  music.  There,  very 
young  boys,  recruited  for  the  military  bands,  are  instructed 
under  the  high  direction  of  a  bandmaster-general,  a 
Frenchman,  Le  General  Lemaire,  formerly  assistant 
bandmaster  in  a  French  regiment,  at  about  six  pounds 
a  month.  He  took  the  title  of  general,  and  wears  the 
uniform  of  a  French  general  officer. 

There  are  a  quantity  of  military  bands  in  Teheran, 
and  one  of  the  ordinary  features  of  these  bands  is  that 
you  see  musicians  of  from  twelve  to  over  fifty-five  years 


THE  STREETS  OF  TEHERAN  53 

old  playing  in  them,  while  by  no  means  the  smallest 
instruments  are  given  to  the  smallest  boys.  You  see  a 
fat  man  of  forty  playing  a  flute  next  to  a  dear  little 
boy  puffing  out  his  cheeks  at  a  trombone.  The  best 
band  is  that  of  the  Cossacks. 

All  these  bands  are  used  in  the  Legations  to  play 
during  dinners  or  at  fetes.  On  the  arrival  of  the  foreign 
Ministers,  as  each  carriage  drives  up  the  National 
Anthem  of  its  country  is  played  in  a  manner  that  gives 
local  colour  with  a  vengeance. 

It  is  in  the  Khiaban-i-Shimran  that  you  find  the  gas- 
works. They  were  established  by  a  Frenchman  to  whom 
the  concession  of  the  lio^htinor  of  the  streets  had  been 
given.  A  hideous  building  with  a  hugely  high  chimney 
was  built,  and  mains  were  laid  in  the  principal  streets, 
and  lamp-posts  of  the  European  type  erected.  But  after 
it  had  been  working  for  a  few  days,  they  found  it  so 
expensive  that  they  did  not  make  any  more  gas,  but  put 
on  each  lamp-post  a  petroleum  lamp.  Now  the  gas- 
works are  used  as  a  depot  for  the  coal,  which  is  brought 
on  the  back  of  donkeys  from  mines  not  far  from  Teheran. 

The  Khiaban-i-Almasieh  is  the  most  picturesque 
avenue  of  Teheran.  It  begins  at  a  monumental  gate, 
with  its  great  arch  set  in  tiles  that  flash  like  jewels, 
flanked  by  double  arches  not  less  rich  and  crowned  by  a 
delicate  arcade  filled  in  with  sapphire  sky  as  clear  as 
glass,  and  ends  at  the  principal  gate  of  the  Imperial 
Enderoun,  Dervazeh  Almas — the  Gate  of  Diamonds — 
so  called  because  of  the  looking-glasses  cut  in  the  shape 


54        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

of  diamonds,  shining  in  the  sun,  which  ornament  its  bright 
red  fagade. 

It  is  in  this  avenue  that  the  most  beautiful  trees  of 
Teheran  are  found — huge  trees,  between  which  roses, 
apricots,  and  peaches  let  fall  into  the  stream  of  clear 
water,  which  runs  down  it,  the  petals  of  their  fragrant 
blossoms. 

There  are  all  sorts  of  things  to  be  seen  in  this  short 
avenue.  There  is  the  arsenal,  whose  buildings  extend 
to  the  Meidan-i-Toup-Khaneh,  where  cannon  are  founded 
under  the  direction  of  a  Frenchman,  an  ex-workman  in 
the  Toulon  arsenal,  who  has  been  made  a  Persian 
colonel.  There  are  shops,  like  those  in  the  bazar, 
hidden  in  the  foliao^e  of  the  trees :  in  some  of  them 
cabinetmakers  make  their  precious  coffers  of  sandal- 
wood, ornamented  with  minute  mosaics  encrusted  with 
ivory,  ebony,  and  brass  or  gold,  called  khatem ;  others 
are  occupied  by  merchants  of  stuffs  and  spices ;  and  in 
one  of  them,  arranged  like  a  doll's  house,  is  a  class  of 
little  boys,  learning  to  intone  the  Koran  with  the  proper 
movements  of  their  bodies.  They  sway  them  to  their 
chanting,  under  the  vigilant  direction  of  an  old  Mollah 
with  a  gigantic  turban. 

At  the  end  of  the  avenue,  on  the  left  hand,  is  the 
residence  of  one  who  was  a  prime  favourite  of  Muzaffer- 
ed-din  Shah — his  doctor,  Hakim-el-Moulk,  Minister  of 
the  Court  and  of  Public  Works. 

Crossing  the  end,  at  right  angles,  is  the  Street  of 
the  Enderoun,  which  runs  all  along  the  residences  of  the 


V 

C 

c 

c 


I 

£ 
lU 

o 

a 


N 

u 

a 


THE  STREETS  OF  TEHERAN  55 

Shah's  wives.  Turning  into  the  right-hand  portion  of 
this  street,  after  proceeding  a  few  yards  you  turn  to  the 
left  into  the  Street  of  the  Naib-es-Saltaneh,  and  pass  in 
front  of  the  palace  of  Shoa-es-Saltaneh,  the  second 
son  of  Muzaffer-ed-din,  in  front  of  which  is  the 
Olagk-i- Nizam,  the  Military  Chamber,  or  Ministry  of 
War,  an  imposing  building  in  a  garden,  surrounded  by 
palings  of  wood,  painted  green,  through  which  one  can 
perceive  the  numerous  generals  of  all  ages  coming  to 
inquire  what  chance  there  is  of  getting  their  pay. 

This  street  leads  to  a  very  picturesque  square,  called 
Meidan-i-Shah,  or  Meidan-Ark — a  square  almost  entirely 
occupied  by  a  huge  artificial  basin,  at  the  extremity  of 
which  is,  upon  a  platform,  the  Cannon  of  Pearls  — 
Toup-i-Mourvari — taken  from  the  Portuguese  at  Ormuz 
by  Shah  Abbas.  This  gun  is  a  place  of  sanctuary  {bast) 
for  criminals,  in  the  same  way  that  some  of  the 
mosques,  the  Imperial  stable,  and  the  telegraph  office  are 
— anyone  who  wants  to  shelter  himself  from  a  judge  or 
from  the  wrath  of  the  king,  has  only  to  climb  on  that 
platform.  There  he  is  inviolable.  His  family  or  the 
passers-by  feed  him,  and  he  can  remain  there  till  his 
pardon  is  granted. 

This  square  is  surrounded  by  gardens :  to  the  north 
are  the  glittering  buildings  of  the  Dafterkhaneh,  or 
Secretariate  of  State,  which  contains  one  of  the  principal 
gates  of  the  palace,  that  at  which  the  diplomats  enter ;  on 
the  top  of  which  is  the  Bala-khaneh  (upper  rooms)  from 
which  the  Shah  shows  himself  sometimes  to  his  people. 


56        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

In  front,  on  the  south  side,  stands  the  Nagara-khaneh,  a 
sort  of  arcade,  on  the  first  floor  of  which,  at  the  rising 
and  setting  of  the  sun,  is  played  every  day  the  "music 
of  a  thousand  years."  It  is  the  privilege  of  the  kings  of 
Persia,  going  back  into  the  dark  ages,  probably  to  the 
era  of  the  Zoroastrian  kings.  It  is  a  sort  of  salute  of 
the  King  of  the  earth  to  the  King  of  the  skies.  The 
instruments  used  are  kernas  or  horns  of  colossal  dimen- 
sions, which  produce  hoarse  sounds,  very  vaguely  musical, 
accentuated  by  the  rattle  of  drums. 

Passing  under  the  archway  of  the  Nagara-khaneh, 
one  arrives  at  the  Street  of  Gebbehkhaneh,  where  the 
tram  terminus  is.  In  front  is  the  principal  entrance  of 
the  bazar,  flanked  by  two  towers  battlemented  and  covered 
with  blue  tiles,  leading  to  the  Sabz-Meidan  (or  Square  of 
Verdure),  rebuilt  by  Nasr-ed-din  Shah  as  a  mark  of 
his  interest  in  commerce.  In  the  middle  of  this  square 
is  a  fountain  surrounded  by  trees.  On  the  four  sides  of 
the  square  are  monumental  gates,  whose  beautiful  pointed 
arches  covered  with  tiles  give  to  the  square  an  effect  of 
grandeur.  All  around  are  shops  kept  by  Armenians, 
displaying  all  sorts  of  objects  imported  from  Europe. 


CHAPTER   VII 


DOGS    AND    DERVISHES 


There  are  no  vestry  arrangements  in  Teheran,  and,  as 
in  Constantinople,  it  is  the  dogs  that  keep  the  streets 
scavenged.  These  dogs  are  of  a  species  related  to 
wolves  and  jackals,  with  tawny,  bushy  fur.  They  live 
in  each  quarter  and  important  street  or  square,  and  form 
clans  quite  distinct  from  each  other ;  and  if  a  member  of 
one  of  these  clans  ventures  into  a  street  belonging  to 
another,  he  is  chased  with  bites  by  all  the  members  of 
the  invaded  clan,  and  no  consideration  would  prevent 
them  from  tearing  to  pieces  the  intruder,  who  returns 
covered  with  blood  to  the  territory  of  his  clan.  This 
is  why  the  dogs  that  are  seen  peacefully  lying  and 
sleeping  about  the  street,  an  occupation  in  which  they 
spend  the  greater  part  of  their  time,  all  of  them  wear  the 
marks  of  these  fights — torn  ears,  gouged-out  eyes,  and 
so  on.  Most  of  them  are  also  suffering  from  mange, 
which  eats  into  their  bodies,  emaciated  by  irregular  diet. 
Considering  their  condition,  it  is  no  wonder  that  the 
Persians  look  upon  them  as  impure.  No  Mussulman 
ever  makes  a  pet  of  a  dog.  He  keeps  it  as  a  useful 
beast  to  guard  his  house  and  his  garden,  and  during  the 


67 


58        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

night  lets  it  loose  on  the  roof  of  his  house  to  keep  away 
robbers.  The  incessant  barking  of  the  dogs  on  the 
roofs,  which  are  the  only  noises  that  trouble  the  silence 
of  the  Oriental  night,  have  given  a  foundation  to  the 
following  legend  : — 

The  jackals  of  the  desert,  tired  of  their  privations, 
and  envying  the  safe  and  peaceable  life  of  the  town  dogs, 
their  brothers,  proposed  to  them  to  change  situations. 
But  when  the  exchange  was  made,  and  they  had  tasted 
of  the  vicissitudes  of  captivity,  they  had  only  one  desire 
— to  go  back  to  the  free  life  of  the  desert.  From  the 
roofs  of  their  prisons  they  called  for  their  brothers,  but 
in  vain  ;  to  their  barkings  of  distress  the  jackals  and 
hyenas  answered  only  by  laughing  barks.  Since  then 
every  night  there  can  be  heard  from  one  side  the 
tormented  bark  of  the  captives,  and  from  the  other  the 
laughter  of  the  free. 

The  dogs  of  the  streets  look  with  indifference  upon 
the  passing  human  beings,  and  do  not  move  to  get  out 
of  their  way.  It  is  only  at  the  passing  of  conveyances 
that  they  consent  to  interrupt  their  dolce  far  ?iiente.  But 
even  then  they  rise  only  at  the  last  moment,  and  that 
only  to  move  just  far  enough  not  to  be  run  over. 

However,  some  of  these  dogs  hate  Europeans ;  it  is 
without  doubt  their  instinct  which  tells  them  that  these 
human  beings  with  tight  clothes  will  little  by  little 
destroy  the  peacefulness  of  their  dominions,  with  their 
carriages,  their  trams,  and  the  infernal  machines  they 
call  motor  cars. 


DOGS  AND  DERVISHES  59 

There  was  an  old  dog  in  the  Street  of  the  Legations 
whose  hatred  for  Europeans  was  as  great  as  that  of  the 
most  fanatical  amongst  the  reactionary  Mollahs. 

He  sprang  upon  all  men  of  the  Occident,  and  many 
a  trouser  has  been  torn,  many  a  calf  bitten  by  his  fangs, 
those  protectors  of  the  national  traditions.  But  one 
European,  less  patient  than  the  others,  freed  the  quarter 
from  this  dangerous  Cerberus,  by  giving  him  with  a 
treacherous  hand  a  piece  of  poisoned  meat. 

When  an  animal  died  the  Teherani  used  to  content 
themselves  with  throwing  him  out  into  the  street,  where 
he  was  devoured  by  the  dogs  of  the  quarter ;  but  for 
some  time  past  there  fhas  been  an  ordinance  of  the 
police  compelling  people  to  transport  the  bodies  of  dead 
animals  out  of  the  town.  This  is  why  its  gates  are 
smelly  with  the  bodies  of  dead  horses,  asses,  and 
camels,  over  which  the  dogs  fight  with  the  jackals  and 
hyenas. 

One  of  the  most  familiar  features  of  the  streets  in 
the  East  is  the  dervish.  In  Persia  he  is  easily  distin- 
guished by  several  different  signs:  (i)  the  taj,  or  felt 
conical  cap,  embroidered  with  sentences  of  the  Koran 
and  names  of  the  Imams,  held  on  by  hanging  cords ; 
(2)  the  tabar — a  sort  of  mace  made  of  steel,  or  a  heavy 
wooden  staff,  studded  with  nails  or  pikes;  (3)  the 
kashkoul — a  gourd  (or  occasionally  a  cocoanut)  sus- 
pended by  chains,  for  collecting  alms ;  (4)  the  guizou, 
or  long  curling  hair  falling  on  the  shoulders;  (5)  the 
girdle  of  cord  to  which  are  suspended   wooden  beads ; 


60        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

(6)  a  panther's  or  wolfs  skin,  flung  over  the  shoulders 
like  a  highland  shepherd's  plaid,  with  the  hair  outwards  ; 

(7)  the  horn,  which  he  blows  violently  to  call  attention 
to  his  approach.  And  sometimes,  over  all,  he  wears  a 
patchwork  cloak,  made  of  all  sorts  of  odd  materials. 
He    sometimes    wears    sandals    and     sometimes    oroes 

o 

barefoot. 

Many  dervishes  wear  an  entirely  white  garment, 
which  has  seldom  preserved  any  of  its  primitive  purity. 
They  never  cut  their  hair  or  beards,  and  some  are  said 
never  to  eat  anything  but  fruit,  proclaiming  that  to  let 
the  body  suffer  enriches  the  soul.  "Why  should  we  try 
to  keep  our  feeble  body  clean,  knowing  that  after  death 
it  will  become  the  prey  of  worms  ? " 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  make  no  such  attempt. 
Nor  would  it  be  easy  with  the  sort  of  life  they  live,  as 
they  spend  all  their  days  in  the  street,  and  have  no 
homes  except  the  tents  which  they  pitch  against  the 
walls  of  the  houses  of  rich  people.  They  are  dreamy 
and  lazy,  spending  a  great  deal  of  their  time  in  smoking 
hashish  and  opium.  When  anyone  passes,  they  always 
shout,  haq,  haq — truth.  They  travel  from  town  to  town 
and  village  to  village  :  when  they  have  exploited  one 
place  they  go  to  another. 

They  are  more  tolerated  than  liked ;  for  one  who  is 
a  good  man,  there  are  many  deceivers  or  thieves.  Some 
make  money  out  of  human  credulity  by  selling  talismans 
or  remedies ;  others  by  telling  stories ;  and  others  again 
by  behaving  as  if  they  were  mad  in  order  to  win  more 


DOGS  AND  DERVISHES  61 

sympathy  and  respect.  And  sometimes  they  really  are 
mad — the  result  of  hashish  and  opium.  There  was  one 
on  the  road  of  Shimran  who  was  quite  intoxicated  with 
opium ;  he  used  to  go  about  half  naked.  He  had 
built  a  little  hut  of  stones  without  cement,  and  had 
traced  out  a  garden  with  stones ;  he  used  to  lie  con- 
cealed, and  when  a  traveller  passed  by,  would  suddenly 
jump  up  and  shout,  haq,  kaq,  which  startled  the  horse. 

During  the  holy  months  the  dervishes  pitch  their  tents 
at  the  gates  of  the  richest  men  in  the  city.  It  is  a 
sort  of  enforced  tax,  for  they  stay  there  until  they  have 
received  the  sum  of  money  which  they  consider  he  is  rich 
enough  to  pay  them.  The  first  few  days  they  content 
themselves  with  being  very  polite  to  the  people  of  the 
house,  offering  greetings,  handing  a  flower  or  leaf,  or 
some  fruit;  but  after  a  few  days,  when  they  think  too 
little  money  has  been  given  them,  they  begin  to  blow 
their  horns  every  minute,  and  their  shouts  of  kaq  and 
Allah-Akbar  make  life  unbearable.  Thanks  to  these 
energetic  expedients,  it  is  rare  for  them  not  to  receive 
the  tax  they  have  levied.  In  spite  of  the  nuisance,  there 
is  no  attempt  to  do  away  with  them. 

Much  knowledge  is  not  required  to  make  a  good 
dervish :  bluff  is  his  strongest  weapon ;  impudence, 
flattery,  discrimination  of  people's  character,  are  more 
necessary  than  learning. 

However,  it  is  true  that  there  are  men  who  have 
been  led  by  philosophical  reasons  to  take  up  the  profes- 
sion of  dervish,  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  word,  which 


62        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

means  poverty,  humility,  and  a  disregard  for  the  natural 
goods  of  this  hfe. 

I  met  a  man  belonging  to  a  rich  and  powerful  family 
of  Shiraz.  He  had  abandoned  his  family  and  given 
his  goods  to  the  poor,  and  turned  a  dervish,  because 
his  convictions  led  him  to  believe  that  this  was  the  true 
life.  He  was  a  poet  of  some  reputation,  and  led  the 
nomad  life  of  ordinary  dervishes,  begging  alms  and 
smoking  opium. 

Zehir-ed-Dowleh  is  also  a  dervish.  It  is  said  that  he 
has  given  to  the  poor  the  greater  part  of  his  wealth.  He 
affects  a  very  simple  life  in  the  midst  of  his  luxurious 
palace,  and  extends  his  hospitality  to  every  dervish  who 
comes  to  him.  There  is  always  one  with  him,  keeping 
him  company  till  another  takes  his  place. 

He  is  an  important  member  of  the  dervish  com- 
munity, and  assists  at  the  general  meetings  of  the  Der- 
vish Order,  which  take  place  in  Teheran  in  the  greatest 
secrecy.  Dervishes  are  supposed  to  do  good  and  help 
the  poor,  like  the  begging  friars  in  Roman  Catholic 
countries,  to  which  they  may  in  many  respects  be 
compared. 

There  are  boy  dervishes,  who  are,  as  it  were,  the 
novices  of  the  profession.  They  serve  the  others,  light 
their  pipes,  and  learn  wisdom  and  the  use  of  intoxicants  : 
the  wisdom  of  the  street  dervish  is  to  enjoy  the  good 
things  of  life,  and  banish  its  sorrows  as  much  as  possible. 
That  is  why  they  avoid  having  any  family. 

There   was   a   young  woman-dervish   also,  begging 


A    Dervish. 


DOGS  AND  DERVISHES  63 

and  smoking  with  them,  but  I  don't  know  how  far  she 
was  a  member  of  the  order. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  dervishes  of  Teheran 
was  a  huge  negro  of  Abyssinia,  with  his  hair  trained 
up  like  a  cap  (see  illustration  on  opposite  page).  His  life 
had  been  one  of  extraordinary  vicissitudes :  he  had  been 
brought  as  a  slave  from  his  country  when  a  boy,  and, 
thanks  to  his  beautiful  appearance  and  his  strength,  had 
been  bought  by  a  Kajar  prince  to  ride  with  him  as  an 
attendant.  After  this  he  attracted  the  notice  of  a  wealthy 
widow,  who  married  him.  During  her  lifetime  his  gor- 
geousness  was  almost  inconceivable.  He  went  about 
on  a  beautiful  horse,  covered  like  himself  with  gold  and 
diamonds  and  the  brilliant  colours  in  which  the  negro 
delights.  But  when  his  wife  died,  the  heirs  stripped  him 
not  only  of  all  his  wealth,  but  of  his  very  clothes,  till  he 
was  left  with  hardly  more  than  a  shirt  to  his  name. 
Thus  disenchanted,  he  became  a  dervish. 


CHAPTER   VIII 


TYPICAL    PERSIANS 


One  of  the  most  fascinating  Persians  whom   I  met  was 
His  Highness  Zehir-ed-Dowleh,  the  Minister  of  Cere- 
monies of  His  Majesty  Musaffer-ed-din,  whose  sister  he 
had    married.     He    belonged   to   the    Imperial   tribe  of 
Kajars.     His  father  had  left  him   an  immense  fortune, 
and  nearly  all  the  European  quarter  of  the  town  belonged 
to  him.     But,  very  generous  and  Orientally  lavish,  he 
spent  a  great  part  of  it,  and  on  becoming  a  dervish  gave 
the  rest  away.     However,  he  went  on  living  in  a  very 
beautiful  palace  in  a  royal  way,  as  he  had  an  important 
appointment  from  the  Government,  and  his  wife  was  of 
course  rich.     His  palace,  newly  built,  was  divided,  like 
every  Persian  house,  into  two  parts :    the  enderoun,  or 
harem,  a  huge  white  building  with  gardens  in  its  quad- 
rangles ;  and,  occupying  the  centre  of  a  park,  the  biroun, 
his   reception  apartments,  which  looked  like  a  lantern, 
being  glazed  all  round  and  encircled  with  a  colonnade. 
Several  rooms  were  furnished  in  the  European  style.      It 
is  much  to  be  deplored  that  the  leading  people  in  Persia 
are  beginning  to  Europeanise  their  lives.     Only  one  room 
in  this  palace  was  kept  quite  Persian  :  it  was  the  library, 


TYPICAL  PERSIANS  65 

furnished  with  bookcases,  carpets,  and  cushions ;  it  was 
a  sort  of  sanctuary  for  a  poet,  and  Zehir-ed-Dowleh  is  a 
poet — one  of  the  most  delicate  and  precious  poets  of 
the  present  time. 

He  is  a  tall,  handsome  man,  with  mysterious  and 
fathomless  eyes — *'  eyes  which  look  into  the  heart "  ; 
his  heavy  moustache,  carefully  brushed  up,  shadows 
a  rather  sardonic  smile,  expressive  of  a  free  mind  which 
Islam  has  not  encircled  with  its  iron  grip.  Under 
his  kolah  curls  hair  nearly  fair.  His  engaging  ges- 
tures, his  soft  voice,  his  exquisite  politeness,  and  his 
conversation,  bright  and  always  adorned  with  extremely 
poetical  ideas,  make  him  a  most  charming  host.  He  has 
remained  Persian  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word,  and  very 
often  reminded  me  of  the  personages  in  the  "  Thousand 
and  One  Nights,"  especially  when  he  wore  the  gorgeous 
Oriental  robes  connected  with  his  functions  at  Court. 
Our  chief  connecting  link  was  music ;  he  was  very  fond 
of  Persian,  and  also  of  European  music,  and  had  a 
European  secretary  who  was  a  remarkable  pianist.  He 
himself  could  play  the  piano,  but  contented  himself  with 
the  airs  of  his  own  country.  I  met  him  on  my  first  night 
in  Teheran  at  the  Grand  Vizier's  party,  and  when  he 
learned  that  I  was  a  musician  he  asked  me  to  come  and 
see  him.  We  were  soon  intimate  friends ;  at  first  our 
conversation  was  necessarily  limited,  as  he  did  not  know 
any  European  language,  and  my  Persian  was  very 
inadequate,  but  my  knowledge  of  his  language  and  our 

friendship  grew  together. 

5 


66        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

His  wife,  Malikeh-Iran  (Princess  of  Persia),  had  the 
reputation  of  being  one  of  the  most  beautiful  women  of 
the  kingdom.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  she  was  a  princess 
of  the  Imperial  family,  sister  of  the  Shah,  he  could  have 
no  other  wife.  He  had  three  sons  and  two  daughters, 
with  an  equal  reputation  for  beauty.  His  eldest  son, 
who  was  about  sixteen,  was  the  most  beautiful  Persian  I 
ever  saw.  He  was,  like  his  father,  very  gifted,  but  his 
talents  ran  specially  in  the  direction  of  painting,  which 
he  loved  so  much  that  he  had  no  hesitation  in  giving  up 
the  advantages  of  his  place  at  Court  to  go  to  Europe  to 
study  art. 

Was  it  his  love  for  the  fantastic  or  the  fact  of  his 
being  a  dervish^  that  gave  Zehir-ed-Dowleh  a  craving 
for  hashishl  Anyhow,  he  revelled  in  it,  and  drew  me 
such  pictures  of  the  ecstasies  attainable  by  its  use  that  I 
grew  curious  to  cross  the  gates  of  its  deceptive  heaven. 
In  spite  of  my  prejudices,  I  tasted  it  several  times. 
It  is  taken  through  a  kalyan  (water-pipe).  The  first 
time  I  smoked  it  nothing  happened  but  a  "  hoarse 
throat "  ;  the  second  time  I  had  a  little  headache ;  the 
third  time  I  began  to  feel  the  results  of  the  drug.  We 
had  been  dining  together  with  several  of  his  friends  in 
the  Persian  way  on  the  floor.  On  one  side  of  the  room, 
servants,  dervishes,  and  other  hangers-on  were  standing 
in  an  attitude  of  respect  and  humility. 

After  the  dishes  were  cleared  away,  the  pipe-bearer 
brought   the   hashished  kalyan.      As   the   guest   of  the 

1  See  Chapter  VII. 


c 


H.E.  Zehir=ed-Dowleh,  Master  of  Ceremonies. 


TYPICAL  PERSIANS  67 

evening,  it  was  handed  to  me  first.  I  took  four  or  five 
puffs,  coughed,  and  then  the  kalyan  was  handed  round 
to  the  other  guests.  At  the  second  turn  I  was  aware 
of  an  indefinite  sensation  ;  at  the  third  I  feU  an  agreeable 
lassitude.  Some  cushions  were  brought  and  piled  all 
round  my  back  and  head,  and  the  musicians  and  dancers 
were  ordered  in.  Little  by  little  the  lassitude  increased, 
till  I  felt  as  if  I  were  in  a  sort  of  a  provisionary  Nirvana. 
Everything  was  couleur-de-rose.  The  music  was  the 
best  I  had  ever  heard,  the  dances  were  incomparable ; 
but  I  had  not  the  energy  to  express  my  admiration, 
the  pronouncing  of  words  seemed  too  much  exertion. 
However,  to  be  polite,  I  tried,  with  one  side  of  my  mouth, 
to  express  it  in  one  syllable.  Tea  was  brought,  and 
I  am  ashamed  to  say  that  the  servants  had  to  hold  the 
cups  to  our  mouths,  into  which  cigarettes  were  afterwards 
inserted  and  lighted. 

With  a  great  effort  the  host  said,  "  I  shall  fill  with 
gold  the  mouth  of  whoever  tells  the  best  story." 

One  of  the  dervishes  began  telling  extraordinary 
things,  probably  without  any  meaning,  which  our  ecstatic 
condition  made  us  find  very  interesting.  Several  others 
spoke,  but  Zehir-ed-Dowleh  wanted  something  better. 
He  ordered  his  nazer  (butler)  to  go  out  into  the  street 
and  bring  in  the  first  beggar  he  could  find.  After  a  few 
minutes,  during  which  a  woman  ^  told  a  story  illustrated 
with  monstrous  mimicries,  an  old  man  was  brought  in, 
walking  with  difficulty  in  a  semi-intoxicated  state.     He 

1  See  Chapter  XVII. 


68        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

said  only  a  few  words,  which  he  would  never  have 
had  the  courage  to  say  if  he  had  not  been  drunk,  and 
for  which  he  would  most  certainly  have  received  the 
bastinado  otherwise,  for  it  was  a  direct  satire  upon  the 
master  of  the  house.  His  mouth  was  filled  with  gold 
coins,  and  he  was  kicked  out. 

Little  by  little  the  fumes  of  hashish  evaporated,  and 
things  returned  to  their  natural  ugliness — exaggerated 
by  the  reaction. 

The  night  did  not  bring  any  nice  dreams,  as  it  is 
said  to  do  in  stories,  but  only  a  heavy  sleep  and  a  heavy 
awakening  in  the  morning,  with  a  sore  throat,  and  a 
good  intention,  which  did  not  go  towards  the  paving 
of  hell.  It  was  one  of  the  things  which  one  is  glad  to 
have  done — once — in  order  to  know  what  it  is  like. 
•  •••••• 

Many  will  remember  the  little  boy  who  accompanied 
Nasr-ed-din  Shah  in  his  travels  in  Europe,  where  he 
was  very  much  noticed.  His  short  stature  made  him 
look  even  younger  than  he  was,  and  as  he  was  not  a 
prince,  people  wondered  why  he  enjoyed  so  much 
importance.  Since  his  story  shows  one  of  the  queer 
sides  of  Oriental  life,   I  think  I  may  give  it  here. 

Nasr-ed-din  Shah,  like  all  his  subjects,  was  super- 
stitious. He  believed  in  the  virtue  of  mascots,  and  the 
porte-bonheur  on  which  he  put  all  his  faith  was  a 
marvellous  black  cat  with  long  fur,  the  most  remarkable 
specimen  of  that  race  which  makes  Persia  a  household 
word  everywhere.     He  was   persuaded  that,  thanks  to 


TYPICAL  PERSIANS  69 

this  animal,  he  avoided  all  accidents  and  shielded  himself 
from  assassins.  He  never  allowed  it  to  be  parted  from 
him ;  he  had  entrusted  it  to  the  care  of  one  of  his 
wives,  Amin  Agdas,  who,  thanks  to  that  and  to  her 
cleverness,  had,  from  the  position  of  a  servant,  achieved 
one  of  the  most  prominent  positions  in  the  harem. 

Even  in  the  shooting-parties  the  cat  mascot  followed 
his  august  master,  carried  in  a  richly  decorated  basket 
by  a  horseman  galloping  behind  His  Majesty. 

One  day,  in  one  of  those  dangerous  moufflon-shooting 
parties  in  the  mountains  which  the  Shah  loved,  an 
accident  happened  to  the  cat,  and  it  died.  His  Majesty 
was  in  despair,  and  furious,  which  meant  many  bas- 
tinadoes. 

When   he    returned    to    the    palace,    all   the    Court 
greeted  him  with  the  downcast  looks  of  a  real  mourning. 
In  the   harem    it   was    still    worse.     It   would   perhaps 
mean  the  end  of  the  influence  of  "the  Wife  of  the  Cat." 
Intrigues  began  all  round  to  determine  who  should  take 
her   place.     On    every   side   mascots    were   discovered : 
one  wife  brought  a  little  gu^pard  which  had  conjured 
the  evil  eye,  another  a  cock  which  had  kept  off  lightning, 
a  third  a  parrot  which,  by  calling  for  her  mistress,  had 
put  to  flight  robbers  who   had   broken   into  the  house 
during   the    night.      And    the    sovereign    sat   gloomily 
downcast,  not  knowing  to  which  he  gave  the  preference, 
when  a  luminous  idea  came  to  Amin  Agdas.     She  threw 
herself  at  the  feet  of  the  Shah,  exclaiming,   "  Rejoice, 
Lord  of  all   Perfections,  by  your  sublime   beard,  what 


70        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

happened  was  decreed  by  Providence  in  order  that  a 
second-rate  mascot  should  give  way  to  a  first-rate  one. 
My  little  nephew  Manijeh  is  the  most  miraculous  porte- 
bonhetir  that  ever  existed  under  the  sun.  Permit  me 
to  lay  him  at  your  august  feet !     I  am  your  sacrifice !  " 

As  if  by  chance,  the  little  boy  was  close  at  hand. 
They  brought  him  in,  and  the  Shah,  amused  by  his 
smiling  and  ingenuous  appearance,  cheered  up,  which 
was  considered  a  sign  of  acceptance,  and  the  boy,  at 
the  order  of  his  aunt,  took  up  his  position,  with  his 
hands  folded  in  the  respectful  attitude  of  a  courtier.  In 
Persia  children  have  the  gift  of  being  able  to  look  like 
adults. 

This  happened  in  the  library  of  the  harem,  a  small 
room  covered  with  gay  tiles.  His  Majesty,  forgetting 
the  incident,  was  watching  with  interest  through  the 
window-arcades  the  movements  on  the  lake  in  his  garden 
of  the  mandarin  ducks  which  had  been  presented  to  him 
a  little  while  before,  when,  all  of  a  sudden,  Manijeh, 
running  towards  the  door,  shouted,  "  Come  out.  Majesty, 
come  out  quickly ! "  The  Shah  started  back,  got  up, 
and  went  out.  At  that  very  moment  the  ceiling  of  the 
room  fell  down,  and  the  part  of  the  wall  at  the  foot  of 
which  the  Shah  had  been  sittinof. 

The  little  boy  had  saved  the  life  of  his  sovereign.  It 
was  easy  for  his  aunt  to  exploit  this,  and  the  Shah  from 
that  time  forward  never  let  the  new  porte-bonheury  to 
whom  he  gave  the  title  of  Aziz-es-Sultan  (the  Cherished 
of  the  Sovereign)  out  of  his  sight. 


TYPICAL  PERSIANS  71 

All  the  Court  bowed  to  the  bearer  of  such  a  title,  and 
the  boy,  loaded  with  presents,  adulated  and  honoured 
more  than  an  actual  son  of  the  Shah,  was  soon  spoilt  to 
such  an  extent  as  to  become  unbearable.  As  he  grew 
under  the  Shadow  of  the  King  of  Kings,  who  gave  him 
his  daughter  in  marriage,  he  accustomed  himself  to 
absolute  power,  and  demanded  royal  honours  even  from 
the  highest  personages.  More  tyrannous  than  the  Shah 
himself,  he  obliged  the  Grand  Vizier  to  stand  in  his  pre- 
sence when  he  himself  was  seated.  He  was  hated,  but 
feared,  and  never  lost  an  opportunity  of  making  fun  at 
the  expense  of  the  personages  of  the  Court,  which  often 
amused  the  Shah.  As  an  instance  of  his  insolence,  one 
may  mention  that  when  the  Shah  went  to  pay  his  annual 
visit  at  the  house  of  his  son,  Naib-es-Saltaneh  (the  Lieu- 
tenant of  the  Empire),  and  the  latter  gave  a  dinner  to  the 
personages  of  the  suite,  a  huge  table  with  covers  for  two 
hundred  persons  was  laid  in  the  park  under  a  marquee 
near  a  large  lake.  The  plates  were  specially  made  at 
the  Sevres  factory,  with  the  arms  of  Naib-es-Saltaneh  on 
them.  The  boy  regularly  used  to  walk  round  the  table, 
picking  up  the  beautiful  plates  and  throwing  them  into 
the  lake.  This  used  to  amuse  the  Shah  very  much, 
though  he  contrived  to  hide  it  from  his  unhappy  son,  who 
dared  not  say  a  word  to  the  favourite. 

But  everything  has  an  end,  and  the  favour  which 
Aziz-es-Sultan  enjoyed  was  killed  by  himself.  It  was  in 
the  mountains  of  Mazanderan,  on  one  of  the  shooting  ex- 
peditions when  the  Shah  was  hunting  panthers.     During 


72        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

the  afternoon  siesta,  Aziz-es-Sultan  was  playing  with 
a  revolver  in  his  tent  close  to  the  tent  of  the  Shah,  when 
suddenly  the  weapon  went  off,  and  the  bullet  entered  the 
Shah's  tent.  The  Shah  thought  it  was  an  attempt  to 
murder,  and  had  him  arrested  on  the  spot,  in  spite  of  all 
his  explanations  and  protestations.  The  disgrace  only 
lasted  a  short  time,  but  when  he  was  received  into  favour 
again  he  never  quite  recovered  his  old  position,  and  when 
the  Shah  died,  as  he  had  only  made  enemies  for  himself, 
he  tried  to  fly,  but  was  caught  and  brought  back  to 
Teheran  ;  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  his  wife,  who  was  a 
sister  of  the  new  Shah,  he  would  have  certainly  been 
killed.  The  greater  part  of  his  wealth  was  taken  from 
him,  and  now  he  leads  the  life  of  a  fallen  grandee,  still 
sometimes  invited  to  the  official  receptions.  It  was  at  a 
dinner  at  the  Grand  Vizier's  that  I  met  him  :  I  sat  next 
to  him. 


N     X 


"Ni 


^<<.. 


"""If 


A      QEORiilAN. 


CHAPTER    IX 

A    PERSIAN'S    DAY 

The  Persian  is  waked  at  sunrise  by  the  Muezzin's  call 
to  prayer.  His  toilet  does  not  take  him  long,  because 
he  puts  his  clothes  on  over  his  night-dress,  which  is  a 
pyjama  suit  consisting  of  a  collarless  shirt  buttoned  down 
one  side  with  long  wide  sleeves,  but  only  reaching  to  the 
hips,  and  pantaloons  made  of  white  cotton.  These  con- 
stitute all  the  under-linen  he  has,  and  are  only  changed 
when  he  goes  to  the  hammam.  The  poor  people  have 
generally  only  one  set,  so  when  they  go  to  the  hammam 
they  wash  their  under-linen  there,  and  have  to  wait  till  it 
is  dry  before  they  can  dress  again. 

After  these  the  Persian  puts  on  his  alkalouk,  a  close- 
fitting  quilted  undercoat  made  of  printed  chintz.  It 
reaches  nearly  to  the  knees.  It  is  not  closed  over  the 
chest,  but  reveals  the  shirt  front.  Over  that  he  wears  a 
frock-coat  with  gathered  skirts. 

Upon  his  head,  which  has  been  covered  all  night  by 
a  little  round  skull-cap  like  a  cardinal's  calotta,  he  puts 
the  kolah^  a  sort  of  top-hat  without  a  brim,  a  real  stove- 
pipe, made  of  Persian  lamb.  Very  often  he  keeps  the 
nightcap  on  under  it,  though  the  more  modern  Persian  is 

73 


74        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

beginning  to  discard  that.  This  costume  was  introduced 
by  the  present  Kajar  dynasty. 

The  dress  the  Persians  formerly  wore  was  much  more 
Oriental  and  picturesque.  It  is  still  worn  in  the  south 
of  the  country,  but  in  the  north,  and  especially  in  Teheran, 
very  few  except  the  Mirzas  and  the  Mollahs — the  Scribes 
and  the  Pharisees — retain  it.  It  consists  of  the  alkalouk 
mentioned  before,  over  which  is  worn  a  longer  tunic  of 
the  same  shape,  made  of  cloth,  cashmere  shawling, 
velvet,  or  silk,  according  to  his  means.  This  is  called 
kamerchin.  Over  that  he  puts  the  kolajak,  which  may 
be  described  as  a  coat.  It  is  looser  than  xh^juba,  which 
is  worn  under  it,  a  very  full  garment  with  large  and  long 
sleeves,  under  which  the  hands  disappear.  These  two 
are  made  of  fine  cloth  dyed  grey  or  left  its  natural  colour, 
the  best  quality  of  which  is  as  thin  as  cashmere  and 
comes  from  Kirman.  The  Persian  says  that  when  a 
shawl  is  a  good  quality  you  should  be  able  to  put  it 
through  a  ring. 

European  cloth  is  seldom  used  for  making  purely 
Persian  garments.  When  the  Persian  goes  out  he  wears 
over  all  these  an  adba,  which  is  made  of  a  square  of  cloth 
with  a  hole  cut  in  the  centre  for  the  neck  and  sewn  up  at 
the  sides  :  it  has  two  holes  left  for  the  hands,  and  is  open 
in  front.  In  the  south  these  abbas  are  very  often  made  of 
pale  blue  silk  with  stripes  of  gold  or  silver.  The  poor  wear 
a  balapouch  of  woollen  felt,  or  sheep  fur.  In  the  winter 
the  rich  wear  a  sort  of  wide  cashmere  overcoat  lined  with 
fur  and  with  a  roll  of  fur  all  round.     With  that  dress  their 


A  PERSIAN'S  DAY  75 

usual  headgear  in  the  south  is  a  turban,  which  in  the 
north  is  monopolised  by  the  Mollahs,  who  wear  white 
turbans,  and  the  Seyyids,  who,  being  descendants  of  the 
Prophet,  wear  blue  or  green  turbans.  But  the  kolah  is 
more  the  national  head-dress  in  Persia. 

In  the  olden  times  this  kolah  was  worn  covered  with 
a  white  or  coloured  cashmere  shawl.  Gradually  this 
became  a  privilege  granted  by  the  Shah,  and  now  only 
certain  persons  are  allowed  to  wear  it,  and  that  only  on 
official  occasions. 

The  Persian  attaches  great  importance  to  dress.  It  is 
his  first  consideration  as  soon  as  he  acquires  any  money. 
Dress  is,  in  fact,  his  passport  into  society,  because  it  is  by 
his  dress  that  he  is  judged. 

As  soon  as  he  is  dressed,  the  Persian  takes  one  of  those 
odd-shaped  jugs  of  water  to  make  the  ablutions  prescribed 
by  his  manual  of  religion ;  then  he  says  his  prayers, 
drinks  a  glass  of  tea,  smokes  a  kalyan  (water-pipe),  and 
goes  off  to  his  business.  Between  eleven  and  twelve 
his  lunch  (nakar)  is  brought  to  him,  a  solid  meal  consisting 
of  pilaws  and  chilaws — baked  rice  served  with  meat  or 
vegetables  and  moistened  with  butter,  sauces,  or  gravy, 
or  left  dry.  With  this  he  drinks  sherbets  and  eats  fruit. 
When  he  has  finished  he  generally  takes  a  siesta,  and  at 
two  or  three  o'clock  goes  to  his  business  again  or  pays 
and  receives  calls.  The  working  classes  naturally  lead  a 
simpler  life  :  it  depends  on  their  means.  For  them  the 
lunch  consists  often  only  of  bread  and  cheese  flavoured 
with  mint-leaves.     The  siesta  is  for  the  poor  as  well  as 


76        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

the  rich  in  this  "pleasant"  country,  where  there  is 
always  some  time  to  be  wasted. 

The  Persian  never  loses  any  of  the  thousand  occasions 
that  arrive  in  the  course  of  the  day  for  drinking  tea.  He 
takes  it  not  in  cups  but  in  little  glasses,  in  which  it  is 
served  boiling.  He  does  not  drink  it,  he  sips  it,  and  often, 
instead  of  putting  the  sugar  into  his  glass,  he  takes  it 
between  his  lips  and  sucks  up  the  tea,  through  it.  He 
never  takes  milk  in  his  tea,  but  likes  a  slice  of  lemon  ;  and 
there  is  no  lemon  which  ranks  so  high  as  the  tiny  round 
green  lemon  with  a  dry  hard  skin  grown  at  Shiraz.  Tea 
is,  of  course,  always  accompanied  by  endless  kalyans  and 
cigarettes. 

Visiting  is  one  of  the  Persian's  principal  amusements  : 
he  spends  hours  at  the  hammam  (Turkish  bath).  These 
kammams  are  often  handsome  buildings,  and  have 
very  inviting  entrances  decorated  with  arabesque  tiles, 
painted  with  scenes  from  the  Shah-naineh,  and  inscribed 
with  religious  exhortations  to  frequent  bathing. 

The  smallest  village  has  its  hammam  :  it  shares  with 
the  mosque  the  honour  of  being  the  most  frequented  public 
building,  bathing  being  almost  a  religious  function,  since 
it  was  ordained  by  the  Prophet.  When  he  has  finished 
with  the  hot  room  and  the  massage,  the  Persian  is 
shaved  and  depilated  ;  the  whole  top  of  his  head  is  shaved, 
though  the  hair  over  the  ears  is  left  and  allowed  to  grow 
down  to  the  neck,  where  it  is  curled  upwards. 

Nothing  is  queerer  in  the  /lammam  than  the  collection 
of  bald  heads. 


A  PERSIAN'S  DAY  11 

Tradition  relates  that  Louis  xiv.  started  the  fashion- 
able full  wig  because  he  had  no  hair.  It  was  not  a  prince 
or  personage  who  made  baldness  the  fashion  in  Persia. 
The  peculiar  Persian  coiffure  has  really  a  religious 
signification.  The  two  locks  on  each  side  of  the  head 
are  left  for  the  Angel  of  Death  to  hold  when  he  is 
carrying  the  believer  to  paradise. 

The  last  part  of  the  bath  is  devoted  to  dyeing  the  hair 
and  beard.  All  Persians  have  their  hair  washed  with 
henna,  to  which  vesmeh  is  added  to  make  it  black.^  The 
old  men  of  the  lower  classes  and  the  peasants  use 
only  henna,  and  their  hair  and  beards  become  quite  red. 
This  is  one  of  the  things  which  strike  you  first  when  you 
go  to  Persia  ;  and  as  the  peasants  do  not  dye  their  beards 
often  enough,  the  centre  part  is  apt  to  be  white. 

Gossip,  story-telling,  tea,  and  kalyan  smoking  make 
the  baths  a  very  pleasant  lounging  place. 

A^  business  ends  between  four  and  five  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  the  Persians  have  plenty  of  time  to  go  to  the 
hammam,  pay  visits,  and  go  to  the  tea-house,  which  is 
their  caf6.  The  word  tea-house  suggests  mousmds 
and  other  Japanese  frivolities,  but  the  Persian  tchdi- 
khaneh  are  simply  caf^s  where  people  take  tea  instead  of 
coffee.  They  are  large  rooms  containing  huge  Russian 
samovars  made  of  copper,  and  with  rows  of  lamps  and 
lustres  on  their  walls.  There  is  generally  a  garden  on 
one  side  of  them. 

In  the  spring  the  chief  attraction  of  the  tchdi-khaneh 
1  See  Henna,  Chap.  XXVII. 


78        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

are  the  nightingales  :  every  one  of  them  has  its  night- 
ingale, and  the  best  singer  attracts  most  customers. 
These  nightingales  cost  from  ten  to  twenty  tomans — 
about  two  to  four  pounds  each — andthey  are  the  subject  of 
a  cult.  In  the  cage  of  each  of  them  is  a  rose,  to  which 
they  are  supposed  to  sing. 

All  the  gossip  of  the  bazars  and  the  Court  are  retailed 
at  the  tchdi-khaneh,  but  they  are  only  frequented  by 
the  men  of  the  lower  orders  and  the  servants.  When 
the  nightingales  stop  singing,  the  dervish  story-tellers 
begin.  They  tell  marvellous  and  interminable  tales,  in 
which  the  Persians  take  great  pleasure.  Nasr-ed-din 
Shah  ordered  the  tea-houses  of  Teheran  to  be  closed, 
on  the  pretext  that  they  encouraged  idleness  and  various 
other  vices,  but  little  by  little  they  opened  again. 

The  aim  of  Persians  is  to  kill  time  till  the  dinner- 
hour.  The  guests  arrive  at  sunset ;  the  reception-room 
— talar — is  the  principal  room  of  the  house,  of  which 
it  occupies  the  centre.  It  is  raised  about  four  or  five  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  courtyard,  and  the  front  is  entirely 
taken  up  with  windows  of  the  English  pattern.  The  floor 
is  covered  with  carpets,  and  one  end  is  higher  in  social 
distinction  than  the  other.  Here  will  be  found  the  two 
most  beautiful  carpets  in  the  house.  Persians  love 
pairs  :  when  they  want  a  lamp  they  buy  two,  and  when 
they  want  to  be  especially  European  and  have  pictures, 
they  will  buy  two  exactly  the  same — chromo-lithographs 
in  beautiful  frames. 

There  is  usually  no  furniture  in  their  rooms,  and  when 


A    MINGRELIAN. 


A  PERSIAN'S  DAY  79 

by  chance  there  is  a  table,  the  Persians  use  it  to  hold 
flower-pots  or  crystal  candelabra  ;  it  is  the  ground  which 
they  use  as  a  table.  In  some  houses  there  is  a  sort  of 
mattress  in  the  upper  part  of  the  room,  where  the  master 
of  the  house  and  his  most  honoured  guests  sit. 

When  the  guests  come  in,  the  master  of  the  house 
rises  and  greets  them,  saying,  '*  You  have  brought 
happiness."  A  conversation  in  this  strain  follows,  and 
some  of  the  compliments  they  pay  are  very  absurd  to 
our  ears.  It  is  quite  complimentary  to  say,  **  Your  nose 
is  so  fat :  I  am  glad  to  see  how  fat  your  nose  is."  It 
means,  "You  look  well,"  an  allusion  to  the  thinness  of 
the  nose  meaning  bad  health.  The  master  of  the  house 
then  offers  his  seat,  the  best  in  the  room,  to  the  guest, 
unless  a  more  important  one  is  coming  or  the  master  of 
the  house  is  more  important  than  his  guests.  Then 
kalyans  and  tea  are  brought  in. 

The  kalyan  is  a  bottle  full  of  water.  It  has  a 
nozzle  of  carved  wood  with  a  long  narrow  stem  inserted 
in  it.  On  the  top  of  it  is  the  bowl  of  silver,  or  brass,  or 
copper,  which  contains  the  tobacco.  Little  chains  hang 
down  from  it.  Common  kalyans  are  made  of  pottery ; 
but  the  best  ones  are  of  china,  or  gold  inlaid  with 
enamels  and  a  quantity  of  little  turquoises.  When  the 
kalyan  is  made  of  glass,  the  Persian  often  puts  cherries, 
rose-leaves,  or  jasmine  into  it,  which  dance  about  in  the 
hubble-bubble.  The  body  of  the  kalyan  is  sometimes 
made  of  a  cocoanut  shell  or  of  china,  and  there  are  hideous 
ones,  which  the  Persians  love,  made  in  Russia  of  common 


80        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

china  decorated  with  flowers  and  medallions  containing 
portraits  of  the  Shahs  ;  these  are  very  much  a  la  mode. 

The  preparation  of  the  kalya^i  is  a  very  important 
thing,  and  not  at  all  easy  ;  it  needs  a  special  servant  who 
understands  it.  He  takes  full  leaves  of  tobacco,  puts 
them  into  the  water,  and  squeezes  them  with  his  hand 
before  filling  them  into  the  top  of  the  pipe.  Then  he 
puts  a  live  ember  attached  to  a  string  into  a  cage  full 
of  charcoal  and  swings  it  round  and  round.  In  a 
minute  or  two  it  ignites  all  the  other  charcoal,  which  is 
laid  upon  the  wet  tobacco  leaves,  and  strong  breaths 
are  drawn  in  until  the  pipe  is  lighted. 

The  kalyan  is  then  taken  in  by  an  attendant,  and 
offered  to  the  guest  who  occupies  the  highest  place. 
Before  accepting  it,  he  makes  a  formal  offer  of  it  by 
gesture  to  the  master  of  the  house,  and  every  guest  in 
turn,  with  a  smile  and  a  bow.  They  all  refuse  it — he  knows 
that  they  will.  He  then  takes  two  or  three  puffs  and 
hands  it  back  to  the  servant,  who  lifts  off  the  head  and 
draws  out  the  smoke  left  in  the  tube  before  replacing 
the  head,  because  it  would  be  wanting  in  politeness  to 
leave  any  smoke  in  it.  The  same  thing  is  repeated  as 
it  is  offered  to  each  guest  in  succession. 

When  the  important  guest  arrives,  everybody  rises, 
and  the  master  of  the  house  goes  forward  to  greet  him. 
The  great  man  bows  to  everyone,  and  a  discussion 
about  the  place  of  honour  commences.  He  knows  quite 
well  that  he  will  take  it,  but  he  makes  a  great  show  of 
declining  it,  and  at  last  goes  and  sits  on  it  quite  suddenly. 


A  PERSIAN'S  DAY  81 

He  sinks  on  his  knees  after  spreading  his  long  coat 
under  him,  and  turns  his  toes  in  to  make  a  circle  of 
them,  a  more  comfortable  way  of  squatting  than  that 
adopted  by  most  Orientals.  When  he  is  seated  he  bows 
again  to  the  master  of  the  house  and  to  each  guest,  one 
after  the  other,  mumbling  something,  which  cannot  be 
heard,  between  his  teeth,  but  always  with  a  smile. 

The  assembled  guests  go  on  nibbling  melon  seeds 
grilled  in  salt,  grilled  pistachios,  and  monkey  nuts.  Then, 
although  it  is  forbidden  by  religion,  wines  and  spirits  are 
brought  in,  in  very  beautiful  green  glass  bottles  powdered 
with  gold.  Shiraz  wines  are  the  best.  The  wine  is 
drunk  not  in  glasses,  but  in  cups  without  pedestals, 
which  are  made  of  copper,  and  much  ornamented  with 
figures  of  women  and  sentences  from  the  poets  who 
have  sung  in  praise  of  wine.  Arrack,  a  white  spirit 
distilled  from  rice,  is  also  drunk.  Then  the  musicians 
come  in,  one  playing  a  zither,  another  the  aoud,  a  sort 
of  guitar  often  mentioned  in  the  Arabian  Nights ; 
another  a  sort  of  violin,  which  he  plays  kneeling  with 
the  instrument  resting  on  the  ground — it  has  some  fine 
'cello  notes ;  and  a  fourth  playing  a  tomtom.  The 
singer  and  dancers  follow ;  the  former  chants  in  the  high 
falsetto  so  dear  to  the  Oriental  :  it  begins  with  variations 
on  the  word  delem — my  heart ;  then  the  song,  a  sad,  slow 
mdlopde,  drones  on  and  on,  till  it  suddenly  breaks  off 
like  a  harp-string.  It  soars  and  soars,  as  a  bird  shot 
through  the  head  rises  on  fluttering  wings  and  suddenly 
drops.      The    dancers    are    boys    or   women,   and   we 


82        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

should  call  them  acrobats  and  contortionists  rather  than 
dancers. 

All  through  the  performance  the  guests  go  on  drink- 
ing arrack  and  getting  more  and  more  excited.  They 
clap  their  hands,  not  in  applause,  but  to  mark  time,  till 
things  culminate  in  a  pandemonium.  The  guests  then 
see  that  dinner-time  is  come  :  in  some  houses  it  is 
prepared  in  an  adjoining  room,  but  it  is  more  usual  for 
it  to  be  brought  into  the  same  room  by  the  attendants. 
First  a  leather  napkin  is  spread  under  the  linen  napkin. 
The  Persian  bread,  called  sangak,  is  flat ;  it  is  called 
sangak  from  sang  (stone)  because  the  bread  is  baked 
in  an  oven  which  has  a  floor  composed  of  pebbles,  and 
sometimes  pieces  of  pebble  stick  to  the  bread  and  break 
your  teeth.  In  appearance  it  is  very  like  pancake  :  it  is 
only  crust,  and  is  very  good.  This  bread  is  spread  all 
round  the  table  ;  it  takes  the  place  of  plates,  as  it  did  in 
the  banquets  in  the  Middle  Ages  in  England,  and  is 
always  used  as  a  spoon  to  eat  the  soup  with. 

On  the  tablecloth  are  laid  a  number  of  dishes,  some  of 
them  with  silver  covers,  others  with  covers  of  plaited 
straw.  These  dishes  are  most  of  them  composed  of  rice, 
and  are  divided  into  two  main  classes — chilaws  and 
i)ilaws :  chilaws  are  those  which  are  prepared  without 
any  sauces,  there  is  always  some  rice  roasted  to  a  golden 
colour  upon  them ;  pilaws  are  made  with  sauce.  The 
national  dish  of  Persia  is  the  chilaw-kebab ;  kebab  are 
little  slices  of  mutton  skewered  together  with  the  leaves 
of  aromatic  plants  between    them,  and  they  are  eaten 


A  PERSIAN'S  DAY  83 

with  rice  mixed  up  with  the  yolk  of  a  raw  egg.  The 
eggs  are  brought  in  cut  in  half  and  embedded  in  sand. 
The  guests  throw  the  yolk  on  the  rice  for  themselves, 
and  mix  it  up  with  their  fingers.  There  is  a  very 
popular  pilaw  called  fissenjan  ;  it  is  made  of  pome- 
granates, nuts,  and  almonds,  pounded  up  into  a  sauce 
which  they  eat  with  chicken.  Persians  have  only  two 
meats,  mutton  and  chicken.  Pork  is  forbidden,  so  are 
hares  and  crustaceans. 

No  knives  or  forks  are  used  in  eating,  only  the  fingers 
of  the  right  hand.  Each  person  has  a  little  plate  of  curds 
placed  in  front  of  him,  of  which  he  partakes  all  through 
the  meal.  On  the  cloth  are  huge  bowls  full  of  sherbet, 
made  of  various  fruits,  water,  and  ice.  It  is  often  cooled 
with  snow  :  large  quantities  of  snow  are  stored  in  under- 
ground cellars.  The  guests  help  themselves  to  drink : 
in  each  of  the  bowls  is  an  elaborately  carved  wooden 
spoon ;  when  they  wish  to  drink,  they  drink  out  of  this 
spoon,  and  put  it  back. 

Persians  put  quantities  of  fruit  on  the  table ;  they 
enjoy  the  beauty  of  its  appearance  even  when  they  are 
not  eating  it,  just  as  we  enjoy  flowers.  In  all  pictures 
of  Persian  entertainments  you  see  fruit  on  the  ground, 
like  the  daisies  in  Fra  Angelico's  pictures. 

They  have  some  dishes  of  Turkish  origin,  one  of  the 
most  famous  of  which  is  the  Imam  -  boyaldeu,  which 
means  the  dish  that  made  the  priest  faint  with  delight. 
It  consists  of  aubergine  (egg-fruit),  one  of  the  vegetables 
most  esteemed  in  Persia,  with  stuffing  and  a  very  aromatic 


84        QUEER  THINGS  AEOUT  PERSIA 

sauce.  Another  Turkish  dish  which  often  comes  on  the 
Persian  menu  is  dolma,  which  consists  of  mince  and  rice 
wrapped  up  in  a  vine-leaf.  Tomatoes  were  unknown  to 
the  Persians  till  they  were  introduced  by  Europeans,  so 
they  are  called  European  aubergines — badenjan  franghi. 

The  Persian's  favourite  vegetable  is  cucumber, 
especially  when  taken  with  curds  :  if  ever  you  hear  of 
a  person  dying  of  indigestion,  you  may  be  sure  that  it 
will  be  put  down  to  cucumber  and  curds.  You  must  not 
drink  when  you  have  partaken  of  this  dish,  because  it 
will  only  make  you  thirstier,  and  the  drink  causes  the 
cucumber  to  expand  and  give  you  frightful  indigestion ; 
when  you  have  eaten  it,  you  must  go  to  sleep  for  an  hour. 
The  sweet  is  always  rice,  which  the  Persians  prepare  in 
many  ways :  it  is  sometimes  seasoned  with  orange-peel 
and  pistachios. 

The  Persians  do  not  drink  wine  during  a  meal,  but 
they  drink  a  great  deal  before  and  after,  not  because 
they  enjoy  its  taste,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  intoxicating 
effects. 

The  most  important  guests  sit  at  the  head  of  the 
table  ;  the  host  takes  his  place  in  the  order  of  precedence 
to  which  his  social  position  entitles  him.  At  the  foot  of 
the  table  sit  the  musicians,  who  often  eat  with  the  guests. 
The  meal  commences  by  servants  coming  round  with 
ewers ;  each  guest  has  his  right  sleeve  turned  up  and  his 
right  hand  washed  by  having  water  poured  over  it,  the 
right  hand  only  being  used  for  eating.  There  is  hardly 
any  conversation  during  the  meal ;  the  guests  eat  very 


■a 


3 
o 
6c 

-rj 
C 

CS 

>; 

■a 
■a 


c 
o 
o 
a 
i« 

1* 

v 


a 

3 
tj 


A  PERSIAN'S  DAY  85 

quickly  but  very  solemnly.  The  host  hands  choice 
morsels  to  those  whom  he  specially  wishes  to  honour ; 
they  are  obliged  to  eat  these  morsels  with  good  grace,  no 
matter  how  much  they  may  dislike  them. 

When  the  meal  is  ended  the  ewer  is  brought  round 
again,  this  time  filled  with  rose-perfumed  water.  The 
guests  then  get  up  and  smoke  kalyans.  Some  of  them 
may  remain  all  night  and  sleep  there ;  others  will  have 
their  servants  to  fetch  them,  with  the  enormous  lanterns 
called  fanouSy  which  are  generally  white  with  a  red  stripe 
round  them. 

Much  of  the  day  is  spent  in  visiting  and  conversation. 
The  gossip  of  the  Court  and  the  town  passes  from 
mouth  to  mouth,  embellished  with  such  commentaries 
and  exaggerations  that  it  soon  becomes  completely 
transformed. 

Intrigue  enters  much  into  the  Persian's  life  :  he  is 
always  working  for  some  favour,  the  granting  of  some 
petition,  the  putting  right  of  some  business,  the  arrange- 
ment of  some  judicial  verdict,  or  the  acquisition  of  some 
pension,  title,  or  post.  No  Persian  who  has  the  slightest 
education  despairs  of  seeing  himself  one  day  occupying 
an  important  position  in  the  State.  Many  water-carriers 
have  become  Grand  Viziers  since  the  times  of  the  good 
Haroun-ar-Rashid. 

The  surprises  in  the  life  of  a  Persian,  the  small 
security  which  his  Government  gives,  induces  him  to 
take  the  wildest  risks  for  what  we  should  call  "off- 
chances,"  which  have  afforded  such  wonderful  examples 


86        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

of  success,  while  even  the  highest  personage  cannot 
ignore  the  fact  that  to-morrow  he  may  become  a  beggar. 
For  the  Shah  has  the  power  to  confiscate  all  his  goods, 
and  in  Persia  it  is  dangerous  to  come  down,  for  the 
"  golden  cup,"  or  a  cup  of  doctored  coffee,  so  often  follows 
the  downfall. 

The  word  which  you  hear  oftenest  in  conversation 
is  flouss,  which  means  money.  Then  comes  the  word 
fuoudakhe/,  which  is  not  translatable ;  to  say  that  it 
means  a  commission,  or  a  bribe,  or  a  douceur,  is  to  take 
off  the  subtilty  of  its  meaning.  The  nioudakhel  re- 
presents the  profit,  more  or  less  illicit,  which  every 
Persian  considers  a  duty  to  realise  in  exchange  for  a 
favour  or  a  service.  The  Shah  himself,  far  from  dis- 
daining the  moudakhel,  exacts  it  without  fail  whenever 
he  extends  mercy  to  a  culprit  or  bestows  a  title  upon  an 
ambitious  courtier.  Even  before  a  judge  arguments 
must  have  the  ring  of  gold  to  be  of  any  weight,  since 
the  Persian  law  is  so  elastic  and  so  easy  to  interpret, 
according  to  the  necessities  of  the  moment,  that  the 
judge  who  interprets  it  would  be  very  much  embarrassed 
if  he  had  no  moudakhel  to  guide  him. 

Time  has  no  value  in  the  lands  of  Islam.  Ferda — 
i.e.  to-morrow — is  always  on  the  lips.  An  hour  is  easily 
spent  in  bargaining  for  a  water-melon,  and  if  it  was  not 
sold  in  the  end,  no  Persian  would  dream  of  regretting 
the  loss  of  time. 


CHAPTER   X 

the  character  of  the  persians 
(lying  a  fine  art) 

The  Persians  are  said  to  be  the  French  of  the  East.  Like 
them,  they  are  gay :  the  Mussulman  religion  has  not  set 
upon  them  that  stamp  of  haughty  and  meditative  sadness 
which  is  so  marked  in  the  Arabs  and  the  Turks.  They 
have  the  explanatory  and  communicative  gestures  of  the 
French,  their  exuberance,  their  love  of  feasts  and  re- 
joicings, their  loquacity,  their  artistic  taste,  their  tendency 
towards  scepticism,  or  at  least  towards  philosophic 
speculations  which  border  on  it,  their  critical  and  caustic 
spirit. 

No  other  people  is  so  courteous  in  receiving  a  visitor  ; 
even  if  the  Persian  is  indifferent  to  you,  he  will  not  omit 
the  compliment  which  he  believes  you  will  feel  most 
It  is  difficult  to  exaggerate  the  Persian's  courteousness, 
the  kindness,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  dignity,  scarcely 
noticeable  on  account  of  the  simplicity  in  which  it  is 
wrapt,  the  poetical  terms  and  citations  used !  All  this, 
added  to  his  exoticism  and  the  grandeur  inherited  from 
a  glorious  past,  makes  intercourse  with  the  Persian 
exquisite. 

87 


88        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

Without  doubt  it  is  better  not  to  scratch  the  civilised 
man,  or  you  may  discover  the  barbarian  who  sleeps,  and 
generally  sleeps  with  only  one  eye.  For  behind  this 
courteousness  are  the  philosophic  hatred — that  strong 
hatred  which  springs  from  the  clashing  of  ideas,  above 
all  of  religious  ideas — and  the  profound  scorn  which,  in 
spite  of  himself,  every  Mussulman  has  for  the  creatures 
whom  Allah  judged  unworthy  of  being  enlightened  with 
the  Faith,  and  therefore  destined  for  hell.  The  greatest 
Persian  curse  is  Peder  soukhteh  (burnt  father).  The 
fact  of  being  a  Christian  is  the  most  powerful  reason  for 
deserving  this  epithet.  Even  in  the  eyes  of  the  sceptical 
Persian — or  one  who  believes  that  he  is  so — Christianity 
is  not  less  a  blemish  ;  the  feeling  is  instinctive. 

The  same  man  who  drops  rose  petals  under  your 
feet  in  order  to  make  them  avoid  the  hardness  of  the 
road,  will  not  hesitate  to  make  you  suffer  the  most  cruel 
tortures.  He  delights  in  the  murmur  of  the  rivulet  in 
the  moonshine,  but  the  sound  of  blood  flowing  from 
an  open  wound  has  also  for  him  its  fascination.  The 
singing  of  the  nightingale  fills  him  with  rapture  in  the 
night,  but  he  quivers  with  pleasure  at  the  cry  of  pain 
from  a  victim. 

In  this  he  could  not  be  better  compared  than  to  the 
Roman  of  the  decadence,  Persian  that  he  is  of  a 
supreme  decadence,  a  decadence  bordering  on  decay  ;  for 
of  all  these  beaux  sentiments  which  have  made  the 
greatness  of  humanity,  there  remain  to  him  only  the 
appearances.     However,  we  must    be   thankful    to   the 


3 


r 

E 
o 

c 

'5 
c 
o 


13 

O 
c 

IS 


4> 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE  PERSIANS     89 

Persian  for  knowing  how  to  keep  up  these  appearances, 
and  with  a  serenity  which  would  "deceive  the  devil.  Du 
reste,  he  is  deceived  himself,  for  it  is  improbable  that  he 
would  reach  such  a  perfection  without  any  sincerity. 

He  is,  however,  an  exquisite  being :  how  can  one 
help  admiring  him  ?  If  he  has  a  right  to  our  admiration 
for  his  charm  and  fascination,  he  deserves  our  indulgence 
for  the  rest,  since  his  religion  and  his  Government  have 
condemned  him  for  many  centuries  to  every  species  of 
dissimulation,  servitude,  and  baseness,  to  the  atmosphere 
of  uncertainty  for  the  morrow,  the  absence  of  justice  and 
of  rights.  Also,  it  might  be  urged  that  the  traditions  of 
cruelty  inherited  from  his  ancestors,  who  used  to  pierce 
the  eyes  of  their  captives,  would  be  some  excuse  for  the 
barbarous  side  of  his  character,  were  it  not  that  he  has 
lost  the  tradition  of  courage. 

He  loves  meetings,  fetes,  and  music.  In  springtime, 
flowers  and  the  singing  of  the  nightingale  play  an 
important  part  in  his  life ;  in  gardens  by  the  side  of  little 
rivulets  he  delights  in  devising  and  reciting  from  Sa'di 
and  Hafiz,  and  in  hearing  the  singing  of  the  nightingale 
whose  cage  he  has  hung  from  the  neighbouring  tree. 
This  cage  is  of  precious  wood  with  golden  bars,  and  is 
always  full  of  flowers,  because  it  is  thought  that  the 
nightingale  dedicates  his  song  to  them.  In  the  poems 
the  nightingale  is  supposed  to  fall  in  love  with  the  rose 
and  sing  to  it. 

Of  lying  the  Persian  has  made  an  institution — if 
"lie"  is  the  proper  term   to  designate  the  picturesque 


90        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

way  In  which  he  gives  free  play  to  his  proHfic  imagination. 
Can  a  mirage  decently  he  called  a  lie  ?  There  is  always 
some  mirage  reflected  in  the  Persian's  thought.  Ampli- 
fication, embellishment,  illumination,  would  be  a  more 
exact  term  to  designate  the  "running  lie"  which  enamels 
all  Persian  conversation. 

The  Persian  does  not  consider  a  lie  a  sin.  He  thinks 
that  we  have  a  bad  opinion  of  lying  because  we  do  not 
know  how  to  lie,  and  if  he  shows  an  unbounded  confidence 
in  everything  the  Europeans  say,  it  is  chiefly  because  he 
thinks  that  we  are  totally  devoid  of  the  gift.  It  may 
be  said  that  he  lies  for  the  sake  of  lying.  In  Persian 
conversation  it  takes  so  important  a  place  that  the 
unfortunate  truth  is  quite  drowned.  Truth  is  a  distant 
and  inaccessible  goddess ;  she  must  have  been  afraid  of 
risking  her  delicate  complexion  under  the  burning  Persian 
sun,  so  she  prudently  remains  at  the  bottom  of  her 
well,  beneath  a  shroud  of  unfathomable  water.  There 
is  a  Persian  dictum  that  it  is  better  to  tell  a  lie  which 
will  do  good  than  a  truth  which  will  do  harm. 

Napier  Malcolm  speaks  thus  of  the  bewildering  topsy- 
turvydom of  Persia :  "  An  Englishman  when  in  doubt 
tells  the  truth.  A  Persian  in  doubt  tells  a  lie.  This 
would  be  more  tolerable  were  it  not  that  a  Persian  is 
always  in  doubt.  In  Persia  security  is  a  thing  unknown, 
and  telling  lies  becomes  part  of  the  instinct  of  self- 
preservation.  Then  again  the  lies  are  of  a  new  kind. 
Lies  in  England  are  generally  told  to  deceive  people  in 
some  particular ;    in   Persia  they  are  just  as  frequently 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE  PERSIANS     91 

told  in  order  to  make  the  very  search  for  truth  impossible. 
When  I  have  had  to  examine  into  cases  of  petty  theft 
amongst  schoolboys,  I  have  found  that  to  get  at  the 
truth  is  an  almost  superhuman  task.  English  boys,  if 
they  do  not  tell  the  truth,  will  at  least  tell  as  few  false- 
hoods as  possible,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  to  avoid 
being  found  out.  Persian  boys  will  not  only  lie  on  the 
subject  they  wish  to  conceal,  but  they  will  tell  as  many 
untruths  as  they  can  cram  into  the  story,  so  as  to  render 
any  attempt  at  investigation  futile.  Of  course  you  know 
that  they  are  lying,  but  as  they  never  imagine  that  you 
will  suspect  them  of  telling  the  truth,  they  are  not  much 
deterred." 

There  is  always  the  true  lie,  here  as  everywhere  else. 
But,  like  the  sun,  it  shines  more  brightly  on  the  land  of 
Iran.  Though  not  taken  seriously,  its  share  is  generally 
a  pretty  large  share — for  one  knows  what  talking  means. 
Just  as  in  the  Persian's  gambling,  cheating  is  not  con- 
sidered knavery,  since  everybody  cheats ;  so  the  lie 
becomes  with  him  one  of  the  rules  of  the  game,  and  the 
match  is  only  made  more  interesting  by  it. 

The  Persian  is  also  a  great  gambler.  He  has 
always  been  celebrated  at  chess,  but  cards  are  not  less 
popular  in  Persia.  They  are  nice  little  cards  in  vernis 
martin  like  lacquer,  real  masterpieces  for  which  the 
artists  give  a  free  rein  to  their  imagination.  The  Queens 
are  represented  in  the  most  varied  costumes  and  attitudes, 
and  often  with  very  little  veiling  for  Oriental  women. 


92        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

This  is,  of  course,  the  picture  of  the  characteristic 
Persian.  It  would  not  be  right  to  conclude  from  it  that 
one  does  not  meet  in  Persia,  as  everywhere  else,  people 
essentially  respectable  and  honest — but  why  should  we 
speak  of  these  ? 

There  are  many  fine  qualities  which  we  must  allow 
the  Persian.  One  of  the  most  moving  is  the  patriarchal 
respect  he  pays  to  his  parents.  The  son  is  the  humble 
servant  of  his  father  :  he  never  sits  in  his  presence  unless 
he  is  repeatedly  urged  to  do  so  by  him  ;  he  would  not 
smoke  before  him  on  any  pretext. 

The  Persian  has  not  the  slightest  idea  of  patriotism 
to  Persia,  which  is  only  a  geographical  expression  to 
him.  His  patriotism  is  parochial,  and  stronger  than 
prejudice.  A  Persian  poet  who  was  far  from  his  native 
place  wrote  :  "  Build  my  tomb  upon  a  height,  that  the 
wind  may  carry  the  vapours  of  my  body  to  the  spot 
where  I  was  born." 

•  •••••• 

Many  Europeans  living  in  Persia,  who  do  not  know 
how  to  make  allowances,  show  great  injustice  towards 
the  Persians,  whom  they  pronounce  "the  lowest  of  the 
nations."  They  delight  in  enumerating  their  defects 
and  their  vices,  as  if  they  had  none  themselves,  or  in 
order  to  appear  more  pure  in  their  own  eyes.  They  go 
no  farther  than  the  Persian  language  to  find  support  of 
their  opinions.  It  is  true  that  since  thankfulness  finds 
no  room  in  the  golden  book  of  Persian  qualities,  there 
exists  no  word  in   their  vocabulary   to  say   "Thanks." 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE  PERSIANS     93 

They  say  instead,  Luft-i-shuma  ziyad{y[2iy  your  kindness 
grow),  which  seems  to  mean,  "  May  your  attentions 
grow,"  or,  with  lesss  elfishness,  Zell  skuma  kam  nacharad 
(May  your  shadow  never  grow  less),  which  is  really 
kind-hearted. 

They  swear  by  your  salt,  by  your  beloved  life,  by 
your  death  :  which  means,  "  May  you  die  if  I  have  lied." 
And  in  this  it  is  once  more  a  compliment  that  they 
mean  to  pay  to  you,  for  they  show  that  they  fix  an 
infinitely  higher  price  on  your  life  than  on  their  own. 

One  of  those  Europeans  who  believe  themselves  to 
be  victims  of  Eastern  perfidy  has  given  to  me  as  a  proof 
of  it  the  following  tale,  which  recalls  Frederick  the  Great 
and  the  Mill  of  Sans-Souci. 

The  governor  of  the  Southern  province,  in  which 
the  nightingales  are  most  famous  for  their  singing, 
extended  every  year  the  length  of  his  palace  garden. 
He  adored  flowers,  verdure,  and  huge  sheets  of  water, 
which  recall  the  river  Kouther  in  the  Garden  of  Paradise. 
He  was  more  feared  than  loved  by  his  subjects, 
by  whom  he  had  managed  not  to  be  hated,  for  he  used 
the  velvet  glove  on  the  iron  hand,  and  thus  he  con- 
stantly saw  his  fortune  growing.  Political  fortune  often 
follows  the  same  path  as  monetary  fortune :  the  prince 
therefore  stood  well  at  Court. 

All  this  made  the  progressive  growth  of  his  gardens 
easy.  Who  would  dare  refuse  to  sell  his  lands  to  such 
a  powerful  lord  ? 

Once  it  happened  that  a  poor  old  peasant  had  the 


94        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

courage  and  the  obstinacy  or  conceitedness  which  has 
immortahsed  the  miller  of  Sans-Souci,  who  was  so  deaf 
to  the  offers  and  threats  of  the  great  Frederick.  He  did 
not  want  to  give  up  to  the  prince  the  wretched  cube  of 
earth  which  had  been  his  dwelling  during  all  his  life,  and 
which  his  father  had  built  with  the  soil  of  the  road. 

The  prince  was  at  first  astonished.  He  wanted  to 
see  the  man  who  did  not  fear  to  stand  up  to  him.  The 
poor  old  man  was  brought  to  him,  and  he  received  him 
amiably,  so  amiably  that  the  fellow,  who  expected  the 
bastinado  or  worse,  came  very  near  to  yielding  every- 
thing. However,  he  thought  better  of  it,  and  kept  his 
resolutions  so  well  that  the  prince  threw  away  the  velvet 
glove  and  showed  the  iron  hand.  The  threat  only  had 
the  effect  of  hardening  the  old  man  in  his  obstinacy 
and  his  refusal.  He  was  put  in  prison  in  order  that 
he  might  reflect,  which  increased  his  obstinacy — he  must 
have  been  of  Turkish  origin.  Every  morning  a  man  of 
the  prince's  came  to  ask  him  if  the  night  had  brought 
him  sense.     But  he  remained  obdurate. 

Driven  to  extremity,  the  prince  thought  of  another 
plan,  and  his  servants  came  to  tell  the  old  man  that 
His  Highness  had  set  him  free. 

"  Praise  be  to  God  ! "  exclaimed  he,  and  he  thanked 
the  Lord.  He  was  advised  also  to  bring  his  thanks  to 
the  feet  of  the  prince,  who  was  so  magnanimous  to  him, 
and  he  was  driven  to  the  talar,  where  His  Highness 
was  trying  upon  starlings  some  guns  sent  to  him  from 
Europe. 


4> 
U 

a 


n 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE  PERSIANS     95 

"May  the  attention  of  His  Highness  grow;  may 
his  shadow  never  be  less  ;  and  may  the  blessings  of  God 
be  spread  upon  him  as  numerous  as  the  stars  in  the 
firmament." 

With  a  smile  the  prince  dismissed  him  :  "  Mourakhas 
estir 

And,  after  many  salaams,  the  old  man  retired.  He 
had  only  gone  a  few  paces  when  the  prince  shouldered 
his  gun,  fired,  and  killed  the  clod  who  was  going  back 
unmoved  to  his  cube  of  mud. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE    POSITION    OF   WOMEN    IN    PERSIA 

In  ancient  Persia  before  the  days  of  Zoroaster,  women 
are  said  to  have  had  a  position  as  good  as  that  of  men. 
The  great  Persian  sage,  far  from  aboHshing  such  a  state 
of  things,  confirmed  it  with  his  authority.  He  thought 
that  improving  the  education  and  intellectuality  of  the 
mother,  and  treating  her  with  respect,  would  be  the  best 
thing  for  making  her  sons  more  civilised.  But  Persian 
women  do  not  enjoy  this  Zoroastrian  estimation  in 
modern  society,  where  their  inferiority  to  men  is  most 
marked.  Some  people  blame  Mahomet  for  this  state  of 
affairs  :  this  is  not  just ;  he  did  his  best  to  raise  the  state 
of  woman,  who  was  simply  an  animal  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Arabs  of  his  day,  among  whom  unlimited  polygamy 
reigned. 

But  even  Mahomet  was  unable  to  break  through  the 
conventions  which  kept  woman  in  a  state  of  servitude. 
Her  education  prepared  her  for  this  state  of  inferiority,  as 
it  still  does.  In  the  harem  she  grows  up  like  a  wild 
flower ;  nothing  which  Europeans  generally  keep  out  of 
their  children's  sight  is  concealed  from  her ;  she  is  left 
to  the  dictates  of  her  instincts,  which,  as  she  sees  very 

98 


POSITION  OF  WOMEN  IN  PERSIA      97 

little  society  but  that  of  servants  and  slaves,  are  not  very 
elevating.  Her  religion  is  drowned  in  the  lowest  super- 
stitions, and  as  she  is  seldom  taught  to  read  and  write, 
the  only  means  she  has  of  learning  about  things  is 
from  tales  which  would  have  hardly  any  meaning  for  us 
because  they  are  so  stupid. 

In  spite  of  this,  some  of  the  Persian  women  are  poets 
of  no  mean  ability  ;  their  works  are  never  published,  they 
are  seldom  even  circulated,  for,  after  all  the  inroads  made 
by  civilisation  into  this  country,  the  Persians  are  still  of 
the  opinion  that  nothing  about  a  woman  should  be  en 
evidence,  in  any  way  or  under  any  circumstances.  They 
even  make  it  a  reproach  to  Ayesha,  the  favourite  wife  of 
Mahomet,  that  she  appeared  at  the  head  of  an  army.  I 
should  say,  however,  that  the  leaven  of  civilisation  is 
beginning  to  affect  the  education  of  girls  in  the  better 
families,  which  is  often  far  less  neglected  now.  Indeed, 
there  are  Persian  women  who  are  quite  learned  and  can 
speak  several  languages. 

A  ce  propos,  a  Persian  who  had  been  educated 
in  Europe  told  me  solemnly  that  he  would  never 
marry  a  woman  who  could  read  or  write.  I  asked 
him  why  ?  And  he  replied  that  the  reading  of  novels 
with  descriptions  of  beautiful  young  men,  and  all  the 
thousand  tricks  they  play  upon  husbands,  could  only 
be  bad  for  the  peace  of  the  home.  It  was  in  vain  that 
I  pointed  out  that  young  men  playing  tricks  upon  hus- 
bands do  not  form  at  all  an  ordinary  plot  in  the  novels  of 
the  West,  while  they  are  the  usual  subject  of  the  story- 
7 


98        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

tellers  of  the  harem.  The  Persian  was  unconvinced.  All 
Persians  are  taught  from  their  youth  to  be  on  their  guard 
against  woman's  perfidy.  It  is  an  axiom  with  them  that 
a  man  should  never  take  a  woman's  advice,  and  should 
only  listen  to  it  with  the  definite  intention  of  doing  the 
opposite. 

It  is  a  canon  with  the  Persians  that  woman  must 
remain  an  inferior  creature  under  the  authority  of  man. 
So  great  is  the  constraint  to  which  she  is  subjected,  that 
her  husband  prefers  her  not  going  to  the  ordinary  services 
in  the  mosques  ;  he  likes  her  to  pray  at  home,  or  only  go 
to  the  mosque  when  there  will  be  few  men  there. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  there  is  generally  no 
real  intimacy  between  wife  and  husband  in  Persia.  The 
husband's  occupations  and  intercourse  with  his  male 
friends  and  his  business,  if  he  has  any,  keep  him  away 
all  day  from  the  enderoun  ;  it  is  usually  quite  late 
in  the  evening  before  he  returns.  Women  never  eat 
with  their  husband.  The  food  is  first  taken  to  his 
apartments ;  when  he  and  his  friends  have  eaten  all 
the  tit-bits,  it  is  handed  on  first  to  the  women,  then 
to  the  servants,  and  then  to  the  poor  in  the  streets.  If 
a  woman  goes  out  with  her  husband,  which  is  a  very 
rare  event,  she  has  to  walk  a  few  paces  behind.  But 
even  Japanese  women  have  to  do  that. 

A  wife  is  never  seen  driving  with  her  husband  either 
in  the  town  or  in  the  country,  so  strong  is  the  tradition 
for  keeping  the  women  apart.  And  the  Persian  women, 
like  the  Chinese,  never  accompany  their  husbands  when 


POSITION  OF  WOMEN  IN  PERSIA       99 

they  leave   their  country.     The  only  thing  which   ever 
takes  them   out  of  Persia  is  a  pilgrimage  to   Kerbela 
or  Mecca.     It  is  said  that  scarcely  any  Persian  woman 
has  ever  been   in   Europe.     When  a   Persian  diplomat 
was  questioned  on  the  subject,  he  replied,   '*  It  is  im- 
possible.    What  would  be  the  life  of  our  women  in  a 
country  where  their  sex  lives  in  such  a  totally  different 
way  ?     They  are  only  allowed  to  go  out  closely  veiled  ; 
think  how  they  would  feel  this  when  every  woman  round 
them  was  unveiled.     Even  when   your  women   have  a 
veil,  it  is  like  a  window  ;  you  can  see  through  it.     They 
could  not  go  and  visit  your  women,  because  there  would 
be  such  a  risk  of  their  meeting  men  in  houses  where  the 
sexes  are  accustomed  to  mix.     What  should  we  do  for 
enderouns  in  houses  arranged  like  yours  ?     We  should 
have  to  take  a  hospital  or  a  prison  to  secure  the  proper 
isolation.     That  is  why   Nasr-ed-din   gave  orders  that 
women  were  not  to  leave  Persian  territory.     When  he 
started  out  on  his  first  trip  to  Europe,  he  took  two  of 
his  wives  with  him,  but  he   had  hardly  got  as  far  as 
Moscow  before   he  realised  all   the   complications  that 
would  be  caused  by  their  presence.     Therefore  he  sent 
them  back  there  and  then." 

So  prejudiced  are  the  very  strict  Persians  in  the 
matter  of  the  isolation  of  women,  that  they  make  a  kind 
of  text  out  of  an  anecdote  which  is  related  in  the  Book 
of  Traditions.  "  One  day,  when  Mahomet  was  sitting 
with  Omar  Mukhum,  the  blind  man,  one  of  his  wives 
crossed  the  room.     The   Prophet  reproached    her  with 


100        QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

her  breach  of  the  law.  '  But  the  man  is  blind,  else  had 
I  not  done  it,  my  lord.'  '  But  thou  seest,'  exclaimed 
the  Prophet."  This  is  considered  to  prove  that  not 
only  must  a  man  not  see  a  woman,  but  a  woman  must 
not  look  at  a  man  unless  he  is  her  husband  or  a  near 
relation. 

To  ask  a  Persian  about  his  wife  is  a  grave  breach  of 
etiquette.  The  most  you  can  do  is  to  ask  about  the 
mother  of  his  son. 

The  mystery  which   surrounds   Persian   women  has 
to  be  impenetrable,  and   this  has  an   effect  even   upon 
Persian  architecture.     The  Persian  house  is  built  with 
a  view  to  the  isolation  of  the  enderoun,  the  part  of  the 
house  reserved  to  women.     The  name  is  derived  from 
the    Aryan    root,    Inder.       The    enderoun    is    sacred. 
Minarets  are  scarcer  in  Persian  towns  than  they  are  in 
other   Mussulman  countries,  because  the   Persians  fear 
that  the  Muezzin  who  proclaim  the  hour  of  prayer  so 
many  times  a  day  might  penetrate  the  secrecy  of  the 
houses    below.       And    where    there    are    minarets    the 
Muezzin  seldom  ascend  them  :  they  call  the  faithful  to 
prayer  from  the  roof  of  the  mosque.     The  terraced  roofs 
of  the  houses  are  separated  by  shoulder-high  parapets 
to  isolate  them  from  each  other.     But  in  spite  of  that, 
men  are  supposed  to  go  on  them  as  little  as  possible. 
There  is  a  story  that  a  pigeon  fancier,  who  was  often  on 
his  terrace  training  his  pigeons,  took  advantage  of  this 
to  take  furtive  peeps  at  the  courtyards  of  his  neighbours. 
He  was  asked  several  times  to  give  up  the  practice,  and 


11 


o 
e 
U 


POSITION  OF  WOMEN  IN  PERSIA     101 

because  he  did  not  pay  any  attention  to  these  requests, 
was  shot  dead.  The  authorities  never  dreamt  of  molest- 
ing the  person  who  had  punished  the  trespasser  on  the 
secrecy  which  surrounds  the  harem. 

The  air  of  mystery  which  surrounds  the  Persian 
women  extends  to  their  outdoor  dress,  which  conceals 
their  form  so  completely  as  to  leave  them  mere  phantoms 
of  humanity. 

The  Persian  woman  is  what  man  has  made  her. 
To  the  rich  man  she  is  a  luxury  for  the  gratification 
of  his  pleasures,  to  the  poor  man  a  more  or  less  useful 
animal  until  she  becomes  a  mother.  But  the  respect 
with  which  she  then  becomes  invested  is  some  com- 
pensation for  the  habitual  indifference  to  which  she 
has  been  subjected.  Even  then  the  behaviour  of  her 
husband  and  her  family  depends  on  the  sex  of  the  child  : 
if  it  is  a  male,  they  are  loud  in  their  gratification  ;  if  it 
is  a  female,  they  will  not  conceal  their  disappointment. 
As  soon  as  the  child  is  born  the  nurse  goes  to  Inform 
the  husband,  who  will  be  waiting  in  the  next  room.  If 
it  is  a  son,  she  comes  with  manifestations  of  delight : 
"  Aferin !  you  are  the  father  of  a  son  !  "  The  husband 
is  radiant,  and  he  and  all  the  family  besiege  her  with 
congratulations.  But  if  it  is  only  a  daughter  she  ad- 
vances timidly  and  apologetically,  and  if  he  is  a  man 
in  authority  he  may  order  her  to  be  bastinadoed  for 
telling  him  such  bad  news.  In  the  old  days  she  might 
have  had  her  head  cut  off. 

In  great  families,  especially  in  the  Royal  Family,  the 


102       QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

position  of  mother  gives  a  woman  a  real  influence.  This 
may  be  felt  in  the  management  of  her  husband's  affairs, 
though  that  is  rather  exceptional.  She  is  more  likely 
to  take  advantage  of  her  influence  in  questions  of 
personal  interest.  Her  vision  being  restricted,  feminine 
political  influence  is  not  often  mentioned  at  Court,  but 
many  is  the  request  laid  before  the  Shah  through  the 
avenue  of  the  harem. 

It  used  to  be  different  in  the  days  of  the  Sefavi 
kings,  who  led  effeminate  lives,  and  preferred  the 
pleasures  of  the  harem  to  the  excitements  of  war  and 
hunting.  When  they  were  on  the  throne,  it  was  by  no 
means  unusual  for  the  favourites  of  the  harem  to  exercise 
a  direct  influence  in  the  affairs  of  State,  and  important 
official  posts  were  occupied  by  eunuchs.  That  custom 
is  not  quite  extinct :  Eve  and  the  serpent  still  lead  man 
to  a  certain  extent. 


CHAPTER   XII 

PERSIAN    WOMEN    AND    THEIR    DRESS 

The  poets  of  Persia,  who,  unlike  other  poets  of  the  East, 
have  quite  a  vogue  in  England,  owing  to  the  Sohrab 
and  Rustem  of  Matthew  Arnold  and  Edward  Fitzgerald's 
Rubaiyat  of  Omar  Khayyam,  have  been  so  eloquent 
on  the  subject  of  the  beauty  of  Persian  women,  that  they 
are  supposed  to  be  the  most  beautiful  in  the  world. 
When  they  are  beautiful — and  they  often  really  are — the 
poets  have  not  said  too  much,  from  their  own  standpoint. 
But  their  beauty,  like  that  of  the  aristocratic  Japanese, 
does  not  correspond  with  European  ideas,  if  the  poets 
are  accurate  in  their  descriptions.  Their  idea  of  women 
demands  "the  graceful  form  of  a  cypress,  a  waist  as 
slender  as  a  toothpick,  the  elastic  gait  of  a  tender  fawn, 
a  face  like  the  moon  on  the  fourteenth  night,  cheeks  like 
a  tulip,  the  eyes  of  a  dying  gazelle,  lips  like  a  bursting 
pomegranate,  whose  crimson  makes  rubies  pale,  and  an 
expression  as  sweet  as  a  sugar-eating  parrot."  Some 
of  these  phrases  convey  no  meaning  at  all  to  the 
matter-of-fact  European,  and  even  where  their  meaning 
is  fairly  clear  one  is  not  able  to  endorse  them  from  the 
little  one    knows   of   the   women.     Why,    for   instance, 

103 


104      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  TERSIA 

should  the  Persian  woman  be  compared  to  a  cypress, 
when  she  is  generally  short  ?  and  why  should  she  be 
called  as  slender  as  a  toothpick,  when  she  is  usually 
decidedly  fat?  (As  a  matter  of  fact,  if  she  is  not  fat, 
she  stands  in  imminent  danger  of  a  divorce,  since  the 
Persian  demands  embonpoint  in  the  favourites  of  his 
harem.)  In  Europe,  when  one  compares  a  woman's  face 
to  the  full  moon  one  does  not  as  a  rule  mean  to  imply 
a  compliment. 

What,  then,  are  the  special  beauties  of  the  Persian 
woman  when  stripped  of  the  hyperbole  of  Oriental 
poetry  ?  The  accepted  Persian  type  of  beauty  has  a 
very  full,  oval  face ;  big  black  almond-shaped  eyes, 
which  would  be  sufficiently  bright  and  mysterious  without 
the  assistance  of  the  everlasting  kohl  ;  heavy  eyelids, 
which  seem  to  droop  under  the  long,  full  lashes  that  cast 
a  shadow  on  the  face ;  very  regular  arched  eyebrows, 
the  curves  of  which  are  elongated  with  paint  and  made 
to  taper  off"  on  the  temple,  though  they  almost  join  over 
the  "  birth "  of  the  nose,  where  a  blue  patch  cleverly 
adapted  in  the  shape  of  a  star  separates  them.  The 
nose  is  small  and  aquiline,  and  is  sometimes  almost  lost 
between  the  vivid  crimson  tulips  on  the  cheeks,  which, 
natural  or  otherwise,  rival  in  intensity  the  brilliance  of 
her  sensual  lips.  The  ground  of  her  complexion  is 
milky  white  ;  if  Nature  has  not  made  it  white,  she  makes 
it  white  for  herself.  On  her  cheeks  the  Persian  woman 
wears  another  blue,  star-shaped  patch  like  that  between 
her    eyebrows.     She   seldom    rests   content    with    what 


Persian  woman  in  harem  costume  with  a  Kurdish  headdress. 


PERSIAN  WOMEN  AND  THEIR  DRESS     105 

Nature  has  done  for  her  in  the  way  of  beauty.  But 
a  few  years  ago  cosmetics  went  out  of  fashion,  and  the 
beauties  of  the  harems  lathered  their  faces  with  common 
soap  and  left  it  to  dry,  in  order  to  make  their  skin  shine 
as  if  it  had  been  varnished.  It  is  acknowledged  that 
many  "a  full  moon"  did  glitter  more  brilliantly;  but 
the  obvious  inconveniences  of  the  practice  soon  put  it  out 
of  court,  and  the  eternal  cosmetics  resumed  their  vogue. 

The  Persian  woman  has  very  fine  hair ;  it  is 
abundant  and  long,  and  generally  jet  black.  But  the 
fair  Persian  never  hesitates  to  paint  the  lily ;  so,  when 
she  goes  to  the  bath,  she  either  dyes  her  hair  with 
vesmek  to  give  it  a  blue  tint,  or  with  henna  to  make  it 
auburn,  or  very  often  with  both.  But  aureoline  has  no 
patronesses — the  few  women  who  are  fair  are  ashamed 
of  having  golden  hair,  which  is  a  feature  not  at  all 
appreciated  by  their  husbands.  They,  above  all  others, 
are  devotees  of  dyeing.  It  is  in  the  hamniam,  and 
there  only,  that  the  Persian  woman  ever  has  her  hair 
washed  or  dressed ;  in  the  intervals  between  going  to 
the  hammam  it  is  not  touched.  At  the  same  time 
she  takes  the  opportunity  of  dyeing  with  henna  the 
palms  and  fingers  of  her  nice  little  hands,  and  the  toes 
and  heels  of  her  dainty  feet. 

Her  coiffure  is  very  characteristic.  A  parting  in  the 
middle  of  her  forehead  divides  her  front  hair,  which  falls 
in  stiff,  pomaded  locks  about  five  inches  long  on  both 
sides  of  her  face,  forming  love-knots  upon  her  cheeks. 
Sometimes  her  front  hair  is  cut  in  a  straight  fringe  over 


106      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

her  forehead  ;  her  back  hair  is  divided  into  innumerable 
Httlc  tight  plaits,  terminating  in  ribbons  or  sequins  or 
tassels  of  pearls,  which  sweep  the  ground.  As  long  hair 
is  very  much  esteemed,  the  Persian  women,  like  their 
enemies  of  antiquity,  the  Greeks,  frequently  lengthen 
their  plaits  with  false  hair,  though  they  do  not  use  horse- 
hair for  this  purpose. 

The  ordinary  headgear  of  a  Persian  woman  indoors 
is  a  tiny  skull-cap  worn  on  one  side,  and  surmounted 
by  2ijika,  which  is  a  bent  aigrette  powdered  with  precious 
stones,  or  a  sort  of  jewelled  badge  set  with  feathers 
of  the  peacock  and  other  birds.  The  shape  of  this 
ornament  commemorates  and  represents  the  sacred  bent 
cypress  of  the  ancient  Zoroastrians.  The  same  pattern 
constantly  recurs  in  carpets  and  other  fabrics,  and 
particularly  in  the  famous  cashmere  shawls  which  play 
such  a  conspicuous  part    in  the  dress  of  Persia. 

Perhaps  the  reason  why  the  Persian  woman  sur- 
rounds her  face  with  the  white  cloud  of  gauze  called 
chargat  is  that  she  may  more  exactly  recall  the  circle 
of  the  moon  at  the  fourteenth  night.  The  chargat 
ought  to  frame  the  face  in  a  circle  as  perfect  as  pos- 
sible, showing  the  hair  on  the  forehead  like  two  raven's 
wings.  It  conceals  the  ears  and  binds  the  cheeks, 
letting  the  two  love-knots  escape.  The  ends  of  the 
veil  meet  under  the  chin,  where  they  are  caught  to- 
gether by  a  brooch,  and  hang  down  over  the  shoulder 
and  throat.  This  gives  the  women  of  Persia  the 
hieratic  aspect  of  Egyptian  divinities. 


PERSIAN  WOMEN  AND  THEIR  DRESS    107 

The  graceful  costume  worn  by  Persian  women  of 
yore,  which  has  made  picturesque  so  many  pages  of 
the  poets — consisting  of  the  long  tight  jacket  moulded 
in  to  the  waist,  and  flowing  pantaloons — underwent 
reorrettable  modifications  in  the  last  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth  century.  The  greatest  change  took  place  when 
Nasr-ed-din  returned  in  a  wild  state  of  excitement  from 
his  first  journey  to  Europe,  where  the  filmy  skirts  of  the 
ballet-girls  had  produced  a  formidable  effect  upon  his 
Oriental  mind.  In  consequence,  he  bought  a  quantity 
of  ballet-girl  costumes,  and  on  his  arrival  in  Teheran 
had  all  his  harem  dressed  like  operatic  fairies.  One 
concession,  however,  he  made — the  ladies  of  the  harem 
were  allowed  to  retain  their  loose  bodices,  because  they 
had  never  been  disciplined  to  the  use  of  the  corset,  which 
is  unknown  in  Persia.  The  indoor  costume  of  the 
Persian  woman  of  to-day  is  therefore  composed  of  a 
pikran,  a  transparent  veil  of  gauze  or  muslin,  sequined, 
embroidered  with  gold  or  silver,  and  left  quite  open  on 
the  chest  to  show  the  chemise  and  bosom.  The  sleeves 
are  full  and  long,  buttoned  close  to  the  wrists,  and  turned 
back  with  revers  richly  ornamented  with  braid  and 
knots.  Instead  of  petticoats,  the  Persian  woman  wears 
two  or  three  skirts,  called  zirjoumek,  one  over  the  other ; 
the  lowest  underskirt  is  made  of  very  highly  starched 
cotton,  to  create  undulations  and  bouffants.  The  top 
skirt,  of  the  same  shape,  is  made  of  the  material  to  match 
the  bodice.  The  skirts  have  no  waistband,  but  are  tied 
on  with  cords  so  loosely  that  the  skirt  slips  down  and 


108      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

shows  the  stomach  ;  both  skirts  are  so  short  that  even 
then  they  barely  reach  the  knees.  Latterly  the  best- 
dressed  women  in  the  Imperial  harem  have,  on  the 
advice  of  the  very  clever  representative  of  Worth  et  Cie. 
in  Teheran,  taken  to  the  silk  tights  worn  by  our  ballet- 
girls. 

-Esthetic  Persians  like  the  women  in  their  harems 
to  dress  each  one  in  a  simple  colour,  but  no  two  the 
same,  so  as  to  suggest  to  their  poetical  imaginations  a 
vision  of  a  garden  of  tulips. 

The  legs  and  feet  of  the  harem  women  are  left  bare 
in  the  summer-time ;    in   winter  they   wear  white  socks 
and   a   kind   of  pantaloons   to   protect   them   from   the 
cold.     Their  legs  are  often  loaded  with  heavy  anklets, 
mostly    of    gold    and    silver,    called    khalkkal.      Tiny 
pahpoosh — i.e.    Oriental    slippers,    which    are    made    of 
velvet  embroidered  with  gold  or  pearls,  and  are  worn 
so   short    that    the    high    heels   come   right   under   the 
middle    of    the    feet  —  complete    this    indoor    costume, 
which  would    shock   a    European   lady ;    but    then    the 
Persian    lady   is    equally   shocked    by    the   decollet^   of 
our  women,   which  she  considers  the  badge  of  impro- 
priety.    The   more    liberal-minded    Persian    men    think 
it  charming,  but  often   inquire  of  their  men  friends  at 
the  Legations  why  they  permit  thin  or  old  women  to 
show    their    necks   and   arms.     It    is    curious   how    the 
standard    of    modesty    differs    in    various   parts   of    the 
world.     The   attitude   of  the   Venus  of   Medici  in   the 
Uffizzi    at    Florence    would    be    unintelligible    to    the 


PERSIAN  WOMEN  AND  THEIR  DRESS    109 

Mussulman   woman,  whose   first  thought  would   be   to 
cover  her  face. 

The  outdoor  dress  of  the  Persian  woman  consists  of 
skalvar,  ckader,  and  a  rouhband.     The  shalvar  are  wide 
black  pantaloons,   which  are  drawn  in  just  above   the 
ankles,  and  fit  the  feet  like  stockings ;  when  the  Persian 
women    wear   stockings   at   all,   which    is   seldom,  they 
are  worn    beneath   the  shalvar.     The   outdoor  slippers 
are   of   red   leather   with    iron    heels,    and   their   incon- 
venient shape  may  be  due  to   the  same  cause  as  the 
compression  of  the  women's  feet  in  China — to  prevent 
their    owners    from    moving   freely.     The   chader   is    a 
huge  black  opaque  veil,  which  is  thrown  over  the  head 
and  envelopes   the   whole   body ;    even  the  hands    are 
enveloped   in   it,   because   they    must   not   be   exposed. 
In    spite    of    that,    the    rich    wear    gloves,    generally 
made  of  green  or  mauve  silk.     The  rouhband  is  a  long 
and   narrow   white   veil    fastened    with   a   clasp   at   the 
back   of    the   head   over   the   chader,    and   hangs   over 
the  face  and  forehead   to    the  waist.     In   front  of  the 
eyes   is   a  sort  of  thick  lace,   through   which  the  eyes 
can  see  without  being  seen.     This  ungraceful  costume, 
which    transforms    a   woman    into    the    black   phantom 
of  which  I  so  often  have  to  speak,  conceals  the  form 
to  such  an  extent  that  it  allows  the  wife  to  meet  her 
husband  without   being  recognised.     In    spite   of  what 
writers  have  said  about  a  woman  in  the  Orient  beinsf 
obliged   to   be   faithful    to   her    husband,    this   costume 
sometimes  enables  her  to  deceive  him.     In  Persia  it  is 


no      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

not  uncommon  for  ladies  to  put  on  the  outdoor  dress 
of  their  maids  when  they  want  to  escape  attention  and 
do  what  they  ought  not  to ! 

But  the  Persian  lady  is  so  accustomed  to  this 
costume  that  nothing  would  induce  her  to  go  out  with 
her  face  uncovered.  An  Englishwoman  would  as  soon 
enter  the  sea  without  her  bathing  dress.  A  well-born 
Persian  woman  regards  with  contempt  the  peasants  and 
nomads  who  expose  their  faces. 

No  Persian  would  dare  to  touch  a  woman's  veil, 
for  this  act  would  be  met  with  ruthless  severity  ;  but 
if  a  woman,  for  a  reason  which  it  is  easy  to  understand, 
cares  to  reveal  her  features  to  a  passer-by,  she  pretends 
that  her  veil  is  slipping,  and  has  an  accident  while  she 
is  putting  it  right. 


The  chader  and  rouhband  (out^door  dress  of  a 
Persian   woman.) 


CHAPTER   XIII 

THE    AMUSEMENTS    AND    PUNISHMENTS    OF    THE   ENDEROUN 

Although  Persian  ladies  excuse  themselves  from  all 
kinds  of  labour,  even  the  light  tasks  which  form  the 
pastime  of  European  ladies,  the  middle  and  lower 
class  Persian  woman  is  very  industrious.  She  not 
only  attends  to  all  the  affairs  of  her  household,  and 
prepares  the  sweetmeats  and  conserves  so  appreciated 
all  over  the  East,  but  also  embroiders  to  perfection, 
weaves  cloth  and  makes  carpets. 

Her  amusements  are  limited,  but  she  is  not  difficult 
to  satisfy  on  that  score,  for  she  can  be  diverted  by  the 
merest  trifles.  She  gossips  as  much  as  her  European 
cousin,  even  more,  and  indulges  in  endless  conversation. 
She  smokes  the  kalyan  as  much  as  her  husband, 
and,  like  him,  takes  a  sensual  pleasure  in  music, 
dancing,  poetry,  the  singing  of  the  nightingale,  and 
the  murmur  of  water.  She  adores  flowers,  and  loves 
to  adorn  herself  with  them. 

As  she  generally  is  unable  to  write,  she  is  obliged 

to  have  recourse  to  the  language  of  flowers,  fruits,  spices, 

and  other  domestic  stores,  to  express  her  feelings.     The 

Kitab-Koulsoum-Naneh  gives  the  following  list : — 

111 


112      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

1.  A  whole  cardamom  pod  signifies — The  patience 
and  gentleness  of  the  inamorata. 

2.  A  seed  of  the  cardamom  signifies  that  there  will 
be  no  trouble. 

3.  A  cardamom  half  skinned  signifies — "  The  door  of 
patience  is  opened.     I  am  consumed  with  love." 

4.  Cloves  signify — "  I  am  roasted  "  {i.e.  with  love). 
There  is  a  current  expression  in  Persia  which  says, 

"You  have  turned  my  heart  into  roast  meat,"  meaning, 
I  am  consumed  with  love. 

5.  A  whole  piece  of  cinnamon  signifies — "  I  would 
sacrifice  my  life  for  thee." 

6.  Cinnamon  in  small  pieces  signifies — "  I  am  sick 
with  love,  and  require  a  physician." 

7.  A  whole  walnut  signifies — "  Be  not  grieved,  for  I 
belong  to  thee." 

8.  A  walnut  ground  on  one  side  signifies — "  I  have 
become  weak  with  the  pain  (of  love),  and  have  rubbed 
this  :  do  thou  rub  it  likewise." 

9.  Sugarcane  signifies — "Thou  art  sweet  to  me." 

10.  Chips  of  sandalwood  signify — "Whenever  I  see 
thee  I  become  water." 

11.  Grapes  have  their  meaning  expressed  in  the 
following  verse : — 

"The  grapes  of  thy  red  lips  may  be  named  sugar-candy." 

How  many  words  may  be  uttered  which  come  up  to 
the  meaning. 

1 2.  Saffron  has  its  meaning  versified  thus  : — 

"Thou  hast  made  me  yellow  like  ground  saffron. 
How  long  shall  I  eat  grief  uselessly?" 


AMUSEMENTS  OF  THE  ENDEROUN     113 

13.  A  filbert  signifies — "  I  am  melancholy  and  sick." 

14.  A  white  almond,  the  skin  of  which  has  been 
peeled  off,  signifies — "  The  world  knows  that  I  love  thee." 

15.  A  piece  of  coral  signifies — "  May  thy  face  become 
black,"  or,  "  A  curse  upon  thee." 

Instead  of  saying,  "  What  have  you  been  doing 
wrong?"  a  Persian  asks,  "What  dirt  have  you  been 
eating  ? " 

•  •••••• 

Being  very  religious  and  superstitious,  the  Persian 
woman  is  much  given  to  frequenting  mosques  and 
going  on  pilgrimages.  She  wears  a  great  number  of 
amulets,  and  is  always  ready  to  believe  the  wild  stories 
the  dervishes  tell  her  to  extort  money. 

Old  age — and  it  begins  early  for  her — is  a  calamity. 
Neglected  by  her  husband,  reduced  almost  to  the  rank 
of  a  servant,  she  finds  compensation  in  the  love  of  her 
sons,  who  generally  remain  faithful  to  her — a  compensa- 
tion well  earned,   for  she  has  shown    to  them   in  their 
childhood  a  tenderness  infinitely  touching.     They  con- 
sult her  in  everything,   and  when  she  is  a  widow,   or 
belongs  to  a  bad  husband,  they  receive  her  into  their 
houses,  and  make  her  life  as  pleasant  as  possible.     The 
poor  old  creature  who  has  no   son  is  often    ill-treated. 
She  tries  to  alleviate  her  fate  by  earning  a  small  income 
in  the  little  businesses  which  are  compatible  with  her 
age — for  example,   that  of  the  matrimonial  go-between 
with    whom    we   are   familiar   from    the    pages    of    the 

Arabian  Nights. 
8 


114      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

One  of  the  picturesque  names  that  are  given  to  her 
\s  guisou-sejid,  meaning  white  curl. 

The  old  women  are  particularly  fond  of  pilgrimages  ; 
they  desire  to  assure  their  future  lives.  For,  though 
the  contrary  is  generally  believed  in  Europe,  the  gates 
of  the  paradise  of  Mahomet  are  not  shut  to  them. 

In  a  number  of  instances  they  do  not  return  from 
these  pilgrimages,  the  fatigues  and  privations  which 
they  endure  resulting  in  their  deaths.  If  they  die  when 
they  have  reached  their  goal  they  are  buried  in  the 
sacred  ground,  and  thus  realise  the  wish  of  every  fervid 
Mussulman. 

It  is  curious  that  in  the  country  of  Sa'di,  the  author 
of  the  charming  saying,  "  You  must  not  strike  a  woman, 
even  with  a  flower,"  it  is  no  extraordinary  thing  for 
women  to  be  beaten. 

Mahomet  said  in  the  Koran — 

"  Men  are  superior  to  women  because  God  has  given 
them  dominion  over  women,  and  because  they  endow 
them  with  their  goods.  Women  must  be  obedient,  and 
conceal  the  secrets  of  their  husbands,  to  whose  care 
they  have  been  confided  by  Heaven.  Husbands  who 
suffer  from  their  disobedience  may  punish  them,  banish 
them  from  their  bed,  even  beat  them.  Women  must  rely 
on  submission  to  shelter  them  from  ill-treatment.  God 
is  good  and  sublime." 

Every  Mussulman  is  therefore  in  the  right  when  he 
has  recourse  to  this  remedy  to  punish  his  wife.  The 
Persians  do  not  ignore  the  privilege,  and  consider  that 


The  Mosque  of  Koum,  the  favourite  pilgrimage  for  Persian  women,  who  appear  in  front. 


AMUSEMENTS  OF  THE  ENDEROUN     115 

wives  must  sometimes  be  corrected  like  children.  One 
need  not  add  that  it  is  only  among  the  lower  class  that 
the  practice  is  usual.  In  the  educated  class  it  is  quite 
exceptional.  But  I  remember  a  Persian  maid  saying 
to  her  mistress — an  English  spinster  whom  I  knew, 
"  You  are  not  married ;  how  happy  you  must  be  to 
have  no  one  to  beat  you !  " 

It  is  very  seldom  nowadays  that  a  woman  is  executed, 
whatever  her  crime  may  be,  except  when  the  Govern- 
ment wishes  to  make  an  example,  as  happened  in  the 
time  of  the  persecution  of  the  Babis.  But  sometimes 
a  notorious  case  of  infidelity  obliges  the  governor  of 
the  town  to  take  measures  against  the  culprit.  In 
Tabriz  lately,  a  married  woman  who  had  been  won 
by  the  rich  presents  of  a  merchant  passing  through, 
transmitted  by  a  go-between,  and  had  gone  to  the 
appointment,  was  denounced,  and  the  governor,  without 
consulting  the  husband,  had  the  culprit  seized,  tied  up 
in  a  sack,  and  clubbed  to  death. 

The  tower  of  the  citadel  of  Tabriz  is  a  standing 
warning  against  the  commission  of  adultery,  for  it  is 
from  its  top  that  women  accused  of  that  crime  are 
thrown  down. 

Near  Shiraz  there  is  a  well  sunk  in  the  rock  which 
is  used  for  the  same  purpose.  It  is  called  the  Chah 
Ali-Bander ;  according  to  the  Persians,  it  has  no 
bottom. 

The  Arabs  stone  women  taken  in  adultery.  Mahomet 
imposed  the  same  penalty — but  ordered  it  to  be  exe- 


116      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

cuted  in  secret,   as  everything  appertaining   to  women 
must  be. 

"  If  one  of  your  wives,"  says  the  Koran,  "  has  com- 
mitted infidelity,  call  four  witnesses.  If  their  testimonies 
agree  against  her,  lock  her  up  in  your  house  till  death 
ends  her  career." 

If  one  were  to  keep  to  the  directions  of  Mahomet, 

the  infidelity  would  be  rarely  proved,  for  it  is  not  easy 

to    find    four    witnesses    to    an    act    which    all    culprits 

invariably    conceal    with    the    greatest    care.       If    the 

husband     has     surprised     them     himself     de    flagrante 

delicto,    he    must    take    his    oath,    four   times    repeated, 

that  he  has  seen   it,  and  by  a  fifth  oath  take  God  as 

a    witness   of  the   truth  of  his   testimony,  adding  that 

He  may  punish  him  if  he  has  told  a  lie.     But  should 

the   wife,    after    that,    make    four    oaths,    swearing   her 

innocence,  and  calling  upon   herself  in  a  fifth  oath  the 

Divine  vengeance  if  her  husband  has  not  sworn  falsely, 

the  chastisement  must  be  adjourned  till  new  proofs  or 

testimonies  bring  about   a    definite    decision   as   to  the 

truth. 

Mahomet,  in  a  more  clement  mood,  condemned  the 
adulteress  to  forty  lashes  of  the  whip  and  six  months 
of  exile.  In  the  case  of  a  slave,  only  half  the  penalty 
pronounced  against  the  free  woman  is  inflicted. 

The  punishment  of  the  guilty  man  is  not  less  severe, 
so  powerful  is  the  popular  feeling  against  adultery. 

It  is  related  that  a  Khan,  who  had  fallen  madly 
in  love  with  a   married  woman,  relying   on    his   social 


PUNISHMENTS  OF  THE  ENDEROUN     117 

superiority  to  the  husband  of  the  beloved,  did  not 
hesitate  to  send  his  men  to  carry  her  off.  When  the 
husband  found  it  out,  he  gathered  all  his  friends,  and, 
joined  by  a  few  roughs,  attacked  the  Khan's  house, 
which  was  stormed  and  sacked ;  then,  having  captured 
the  Khan,  the  raging  crowd  inflicted  upon  him  all  sorts 
of  outrages — tore  his  beard  out  by  the  roots,  blackened 
his  face  with  charcoal,  crowned  him  with  a  paper  cap, 
and,  having  placed  him  on  an  ass  barebacked,  expelled 
him  from  the  town,  to  which  he  dared  not  return. 

Where  the  woman  is  at  fault,  no  better  example 
can  be  given  than  the  horrible  anecdote  related  by  Dr. 
Wills  :— 

"  One  day  in  Kermanshah  I  was  surprised  to  meet 
a  procession  in  the  street.  First  came  all  the  lutis  or 
buffoons,  the  public  musicians  singing  and  dancing ;  then 
a  crowd  of  drunken  roughs ;  then  a  few  soldiers  with 
fixed  bayonets;  then  the  ' farrash-bashi,'  or  'principal 
tent-pitcher' — in  reality,  the  Imad-u-dowlet's  head-man 
— on  horseback ;  then  the  executioner,  clad  in  red,  and 
his  aides  ;  then  two  wretched  women,  their  heads  shaved 
and  rubbed  with  curds,  their  faces  bare  and  blackened, 
dressed  in  mens  clothes,  and  both  seated  on  one  donkey, 
led  by  a  negro,  with  their  faces  to  the  tail  (their  feet  had 
been  beaten  to  a  pulp) ;  then  a  crowd  of  some  two 
thousand  men,  women,  and  children.  On  inquiry,  I 
learnt  that  these  women  were  attendants  at  a  public 
bath,  and  had  betrayed  the  wife  of  a  tradesman  into 
the  hands  of  an  admirer,  who  had  secreted  himself  in 


118      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

the  bath  with  their  connivance.  The  woman  com- 
plained, the  man  fled,  and  justice  (Persian  justice) 
was  being  done  on  the  two  unfortunate  women.  The 
Imad-u-dowlet  had  severely  bastinadoed  them,  and 
given  them  over  to  the  executioner  to  be  paraded 
through  the  town,  and  then  banished — after  they  had 
been  handed  over  to  the  tender  mercies  of  all  the 
ruffians  of  the  city.  The  first  part  of  the  sentence  had 
been  carried  out,  and  they  had  been  led  thus  through 
the  bazars  from  dawn  till  afternoon  ;  the  executioner 
taking,  as  is  customary,  a  small  tax  from  each  trader 
according  to  his  degree.  Such  is  the  Persian  custom 
from  old  times.  I  learnt  afterwards  that  the  mob 
defiled  these  women,  and  one  died  of  her  injuries ;  the 
other  poor  wretch  either  took  poison,  or  was  given  it 
by  her  offended  relatives  the  next  morning." 

The  husband  dispenses  justice  in  his  own  home, 
and  the  authorities  rarely  interfere  ;  he  may  even  put 
a  wife  to  death.  For  minor  delinquencies  he  inflicts 
whatever  punishments  he  thinks  fit.  Many  horrors  are 
committed  behind  the  sacred  walls  of  the  enderoun, 
whose  secrecy  is  respected  to  such  an  extent  that 
nobody  interferes,  and  the  crimes  remain  unpunished. 
Poison  is  often  administered ;  there  is  no  law  forbid- 
ding a  chemist  to  sell  poisons,  and  at  the  same  time 
there  is  no  official  certificate  of  the  cause  of  death 
when  a  person  dies.  The  poisoner  has  therefore  only 
to  fear  the  family  of  his  victim. 

Women   have   been   put   to   torture  to  make  them 


PUNISHMENTS  OF  THE  ENDEROUN     119 

confess  where  the  money  or  treasure  of  their  husbands 
is  concealed.  Also,  in  case  of  high  treason,  to  render 
the  punishment  inflicted  on  the  culprit  more  terrible, 
after  beheading  him  and  confiscating  his  property,  his 
wives  and  daughters  are  given  away  as  wives  to  the 
people  of  the  lowest  class.  Being  Asiatics,  it  is  doubtful 
if  they  would  not  prefer  the  fate  of  the  Hindoo  widows 
burnt  on  the  funeral  pyres  of  their  dead  husbands. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

MARRIAGES    AND    TEMPORARY    MARRIAGES 

There  are  in  Persia  two  kinds  of  marriaees :  the 
permanent  marriage,  if  one  may  use  the  expression  of 
a  union  so  easily  terminable  by  divorce ;  and  the 
temporary  marriage,  which  is  peculiar  to  Persia,  whose 
law  and  religion  not  only  permit  it  but  sanction  it. 
It  is  absolutely  forbidden  and  condemned  among  the 
Sunnite  Mussulmans. 

The  Shara',  or  Book  of  the  Sacred  Law,  in  Persia 
contains  several  hundred  paragraphs  anticipating  all 
the  possibilities  incidental  to  marriage.  The  first 
paragraph  runs  as  follows : — 

"  Marriage  constitutes  a  commendable  act  for  two 
persons  who  cannot  contain  their  carnal  desires. 
Different  opinions  are  advanced  as  to  those  whose 
will  is  strong  enough  to  master  their  passion.  But 
marriage  has  the  general  sanction  of  the  Prophet, 
who  said,  'Marry  and  establish  a  family.'  'The 
worst  amongst  the  dead  are  the  celibates.'  '  Second 
only  to  the  benefit  of  having  the  Islamic  faith  is 
that  of  possessing  a  Mussulman  wife,  who  rejoices 
a    man's   eyes,     obeys    him,     and    during    his    absence 

120 


■si';^' 


MARRIAGES  121 

watches  faithfully  over  his  home  and  his  posses- 
sions.' 

"Opposite  opinions  are  founded  on  the  celibacy  of 
St.  John  the  Baptist :  those  who  profess  it  base  on 
his  example  the  proof  of  the  superiority  of  celibacy 
to  marriage.  However,  if  we  consider  that  this 
superiority  is  maintained  by  religions  other  than  ours, 
and  that  in  our  canonical  books  no  recommendation 
of  the  sort  can  be  found,  it  must  be  admitted  that 
marriage  is  a  commendable  act." 

Relying  upon  this,  the  Persians  think  that  parents 
cannot  hurry  too  much  to  marry  their  children — they 
betroth  them  as  early  as  possible,  sometimes  when 
they  are  three  or  four  years  old,  especially  in  the  high 
families  and  princely  houses,  where  occasionally  a 
daughter  is  betrothed  from  her  birth. 

The  age  of  puberty  is  the  age  of  marriage :  in 
Persia  it  begins  at  from  ten  to  twelve  for  a  girl. 
Boys  are  less  precocious,  but  it  is  not  an  uncommon 
thing  to  see  a  father  of  only  seventeen  years  old. 

It  is  the  parents  who  arrange  the  marriages.  The 
betrothed  have  generally  not  even  seen  each  other 
before  the  wedding  night,  called  zefaf  (lifting  of  the 
veil),  though  in  this  respect  the  girl  is  more  favoured, 
for  she  may  have  had  more  than  one  opportunity  of 
seeing  her  future  husband,  who  can  be  pointed  out  to 
her  in  the  street ;  as  for  him,  he  must  content  himself 
(unless  he  makes  his  way  secretly  into  the  house  of 
his    betrothed    to   court   her ;    or,    better   still,    conceals 


122      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

himself  in  the  enderoun  of  his  mother  when  she  has 
invited  his  betrothed  for  the  purpose)  with  the  reports 
he  receives  from  his  mother  or  sister  or  some  female 
relation  or  go-between.  This  go-between  is  a  char- 
acteristic feature  of  the  East ;  it  is  a  regular  profession, 
and  a  lucrative  one  for  women  of  a  certain  age,  since 
it  requires  much  tact  and  diplomacy.  In  stories  she 
is  constantly  interfering  in  love  intrigues,  where  she  is 
represented  as  an  old  harridan — pirezal. 

Flirtation  is  consequently  ignored,  but  the  betrothed 
may  love  each  other  in  imagination  before  the  marriage : 
the  parents  have  dwelt  daily  upon  their  mutual  good 
qualities  and  perfections,  an  innocent  artifice  which 
paves  the  way  for  many  illusions. 

Putting  it  at  its  worst,  the  bride  and  bridegroom 
are  always  favourably  disposed  to  each  other,  and  the 
girl  is  happy  to  escape  the  yoke  of  her  mother  and 
become  the  mistress  of  a  house  herself.  Such  beine 
the  state  of  their  minds  on  the  wedding  day,  it  is  very 
rare  for  the  husband  to  exercise  his  right  of  divorcing 
his  wife  if  she  prove  to  be  ugly. 

"He  who  desires  to  contract  a  marriage,"  says 
the  Shara',  "  must  seek  a  wife  possessing  these  four 
qualifications :  legitimate  birth,  virginity,  purity,  and 
chastity."  One  must  not  be  contented  with  beauty 
and  riches ;  it  is  forbidden  only  to  consider  these  two 
things,  which  would  be  wise  advice  for  other  countries 
besides  Persia.     The  difficulty  is  to  get  it  accepted. 

This  is  what  the  Koran  ordains  : — 


MARRIAGES  123 

"  Do  not  marry  the  women  who  have  been  your 
father's  wives.  It  is  a  crime ;  it  is  the  path  of  per- 
dition.    But  if  the  wrong  is  committed,  keep  them." 

"  You  must  not  marry  your  mother,  your  daughter, 
your  sister,  your  aunt,  your  niece,  your  foster-mother, 
your  foster-sister,  your  grandmother,  the  daughters  of 
your  wives,  of  whom  you  are  the  guardian,  unless  you 
have  not  cohabited  with  the  mother.  You  may  not 
marry  your  daughter-in-law,  nor  two  sisters.  But  it 
the  crime  is  committed,  the  Lord  is  indulgent  and 
merciful." 

"It  is  forbidden  to  you  to  marry  free  married 
women  unless  the  fortunes  of  war  have  made  them 
fall  into  your  power.  Such  are  the  laws  of  the  Lord ; 
everything  else  is  permitted  to  you.  Enjoy  your 
riches  to  procure  chaste  and  virtuous  wives.  Avoid 
debauchery.  Give  those  whose  persons  you  have 
enjoyed  the  dowry  appointed  by  the  law.  When  you 
have  done  this,  all  the  arrangements  that  you  make 
together  will  be  regular.  God  is  wise  and  under- 
standing." 

"He  who  is  not  rich  enough  to  marry  free  Mussul- 
man women  should  take  for  wives  slaves  belonging 
to  the  faith.  Marry  slaves  only  with  the  permission 
of  their  masters ;  give  them  equitable  settlements. 
They  must  be  chaste  and  free  from  impurity,  and  have 
no  lovers.  If  after  the  marriage  they  give  themselves 
up  to  debauchery,  inflict  on  them  half  of  the  penalty 
which    is    prescribed    for    free   women.      This    law   is 


124      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

established  in  favour  of  those  who  fear  adultery.  You 
should  avoid  these  marriages ;  but  the  Lord  is  merciful 
and  indulgent." 

When  the  choice  of  the  bride  is  settled  for  a  man, 
his  mother,  or,  if  he  has  none,  a  female  relation  or  a 
go-between,  goes  and  says  to  the  father  and  mother 
of  the  girl — 

''  Mail -dare  171  folan  pesar-ra  der-lamy  kabul  fer- 
maiyd — We  have  the  desire,  that  so  and  so  boy  your 
slave  you  order  you  accept,"  i.e.  "We  wish  to  offer 
you  such  a  young  man  as  your  slave ;  it  is  for  you 
to  signify  your  acceptance."  The  unconscious  sarcasm 
of  the  wording  of  the  proposal  does  not  hinder  the 
parents  from  accepting  if  they  think  fit.  The  suitor 
sends  a  shawl  and  a  ring.  The  settlement  is  then 
discussed  with  the  parents  of  the  bride.  It  is  the 
guarantee  for  her  future  in  case  of  divorce  or  the 
death  of  her  husband.  Later  on  she  will  perhaps 
give  it  to  her  son,  when  he  marries.  It  consists  of 
a  sum  of  money,  which  must  not  be  less  than  ten 
dirhams — a  mere  matter  of  shillings — to  which  are 
added,  according  to  the  circumstances  of  the  bride- 
groom, one  or  more  slaves,  gold  in  dust  or  ingots, 
little  sacks  of  pearls  or  turquoises,  and  a  copy  of  the 
Koran. 

When  everything  is  settled,  the  bridegroom  gives 
to  his  betrothed's  mother  a  sum  of  money  for  the 
shirbaha — the  price  of  milk — and  he  sends  the  betrothed 
a  present  which  consists  of  a  number  of  trays  of  sweet- 


MARRIAGES  125 

meats  and  of  coffers  containing  valuable  articles  like 
cashmere  shawls,  embroideries,  and  jewels.  After  this 
the  day  is  fixed  for  the  marriage,  or  rather  the  Shirini- 
Khoran  (eating  of  sweetmeats),  which  we  may  call  the 
contracting  day,  as  the  actual  marriage  takes  place  a 
few  days  later. 

The  date  of  a  ceremony  so  important  to  the  future 
happiness  of  the  couple  has  naturally  to  be  fixed  by 
the  astrologer.  The  following  are  occasions  to  be 
avoided — they  are  taken  from  the  Book  of  the  Law, 
the  Shara' :  "A  marriage  must  not  be  consummated 
whilst  the  moon  is  in  the  sign  of  the  Scorpion,  nor 
during  an  eclipse  of  the  moon,  nor  on  the  day  of  an 
eclipse  of  the  sun,  nor  at  noon-time,  nor  towards  the 
end  of  twilight,  nor  on  the  three  last  days  of  the 
month  El-Mohak,  during  which  the  moon  is  below 
the  horizon,  nor  between  dawn  and  sunrise,  nor  during 
the  first  night  of  each  month  except  the  month  of 
Ramadan,  nor  during  the  night  of  the  middle  of  the 
month,  nor  during  a  journey,  a  storm,  or  an  earth- 
quake." 

On  the  day  of  Shirini-Khoran  the  bridegroom  goes 
to  the  bride's  house,  preceded  by  a  procession  of  pish- 
khedmets,  carrying  on  their  heads  huge  trays  (inedjmehs) 
loaded  with  sweetmeats,  sugar-candy,  sugar  loaves,  to 
sweeten  the  future,  sherbets  and  fruits,  all  covered  with 
cloths  more  or  less  valuable  —  often  with  cashmere 
shawls.     All  this  for  the  most  part  is  to  make  teshekkous 


126      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

— to  dazzle ;  and  after  having  been  paraded  thus  and 
exhibited  at  the  house  of  the  wedding,  is  sent  back  to 
the  merchant  from  whom  it  was  hired.  This  brilHant 
cortege  makes  a  grand  entry  into  the  house  of  the  bride, 
amid  a  buzz  of  music  and  admirinor  exclamations  from 
the  numerous  guests.  As  usual,  the  women  are  in  the 
enderoun,  and  the  men  in  the  biroun. 

Instead  of  going  to  the  mosque,  the  mosque  comes  to 
them. 

The  Mollahs,  followed  by  the  bridegroom,  his  father, 
his  witnesses,  and  friends,  proceed  to  the  cnderoun, 
which  has  previously  been  divided  in  two  by  a  curtain, 
near  which  they  stand.  Behind  it,  quite  close,  are  seated 
the  bride  and  her  mother,  surrounded  by  female  relations 
and  friends,  all  veiled. 

The  witnesses  must  be  two  men  or  one  man  and  two 
women.  They  must  be  free,  adult,  of  sound  mind,  and 
Mohammedans  by  religion. 

After  it  has  been  ascertained  that  there  has  been  no 
substitution  of  persons,  the  principal  Mollah  formally 
asks  the  bride  if  she  will  have  this  man  to  be  her 
husband,  and  vice  versa.  If  the  question  remains  un- 
answered, the  Mollah  repeats  it  up  to  three  times ;  if  she 
does  not  answer  at  all,  her  silence  is  interpreted  as  con- 
sent.    The  same  question  is  then  put  to  the  man. 

The  Mollah  then  pronounces  the  marriage  formula  in 
Arabic,  and  writes  out  the  marriage  contract,  in  which 
the  amount  of  the  settlement  is  stipulated.  The  witnesses 
sign  it,  and  it  is  handed  to  the  bride,  who  keeps  it  care- 


MARRIAGES  127 

fully.  Then  the  happy  couple  are  congratulated,  on 
opposite  sides  of  the  curtain,  and  the  men  retire  to  the 
biroMU  except  the  bridegroom,  who,  the  curtain  being 
withdrawn,  is  congratulated  by  all  the  women,  to  each  of 
whom  he  gives  a  little  souvenir,  generally  ashrefy — 
pieces  of  gold  worth  one  toman,  if  the  family  be  rich. 
Then  he  eats  with  his  bride,  always  veiled,  some 
skirini,  in  order  that  their  joint  life  may  be  "  sweet  and 
sugared." 

After  this  the  bridegroom  retires  to  his  male  friends. 
This  is  the  signal  for  rejoicing ;  male  musicians  and 
dancers  in  the  biroun,  and  female  musicians  and  dancers 
in  the  enderoun,  exert  themselves  furiously.  The  guests 
will  gorge  sweetmeats  and  tea  and  smoke  kalyans  till  far 
into  the  night ;  then  the  supper  is  served,  and  they 
separate,  making  an  appointment  for  the  second  part  of 
the  wedding  ceremony,  which  takes  place  a  few  days 
later. 

This  is  celebrated  at  the  bridegroom's  house — or 
rather  the  husband's ;  for  the  marriage  is  reckoned  from 
the  day  that  the  contract  is  signed.  It  lasts  several 
days,  according  to  the  wealth  of  the  parties.  During 
its  continuance  the  guests  are  banqueted  and  amused  all 
day  and  through  the  best  part  of  the  night. 

On  the  last  day,  the  husband,  accompanied  by 
musicians  and  dancers  and  his  most  intimate  friends, 
goes  to  the  hammam.  An  elaborate  toilet  is  gone  through, 
in  which  the  depilatory  paste  and  the  razor  succeed  each 
other,    interspersed    with     music,    collations,     tea,    and 


128      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

kalyans,  those  eternal  accompaniments  to  every  Persian 
rejoicing. 

His  wife  sends  him  a  complete  suit  from  hat  to  boots, 
with  a  rinof  and  a  little  satchel  of  some  valuable  material, 
filled  with  a  pinch  of  sacred  earth  from  Kerbela  or 
Mecca,  on  which  he  will  lay  his  forehead  when  he  bows 
in  prayer.  With  these  she  sends  little  skull-caps  of 
cashmere,  to  be  worn  under  the  kolah,  for  each  of  his 
friends.  The  husband  bestows  on  the  bearer  a  present 
of  money  and  all  the  clothes  in  which  he  entered  the 
hammam.  In  the  evening  the  mother  arrives,  bringing 
the  bride  to  the  husband's  home.  They  come  on  horse- 
back or  in  a  carriage  covered  with  a  shawl.  The  pro- 
cession is  headed  by  musicians,  a  cortege  of  friends  follows, 
and  the  bearers  of  the  wife's  trousseau  and  presents  follow 
between  two  rows  oi  fanous,  huge  white  lanterns. 

When  it  arrives  at  the  gate  of  the  house,  the  cortege 
stops ;  guns  are  fired ;  rockets  are  set  up  ;  and  at  the 
moment  when  the  wife  crosses  the  threshold,  one  or 
several  lambs  and  young  camels  have  their  heads  cut  off 
and  thrown  on  the  other  side,  so  that  she  has  to  step 
over  the  blood — which  brings  good  luck.  The  sacrificed 
animals  are  partly  eaten  by  the  guests  and  partly  given 
to  the  poor. 

The  husband  takes  his  wife  to  the  enderowt,  where 
all  the  female  guests  are  gathered  to  congratulate  her, 
and  the  festivities  begin  again,  and  are  kept  up  to  a  late 
hour,  when  the  husband  goes  to  the  nuptial  chamber  to 
wait  for  his  wife,  who  is  conducted  to  him  by  her  mother. 


MARRIAGES  129 

Alone  at  last,  the  husband  gives  her  the  present  of 
the  zefaf  (the  lifting  of  the  veil),  a  mirror  and  a  jewel ; 
then  she  turns  her  back  to  him  and  holds  the  mirror  in 
front  of  her  face,  in  order  that  it  may  be  over  her  shoulder 
that  her  husband  catches  his  first  vision  of  her  beauty. 

There  is  no  other  feature  about  the  wedding  except 
that  it  generally  ruins  the  bridegroom.  Love  of  display 
often  leads  the  Persian  to  spend  in  a  few  days,  to  impress 
his  fellow-citizens,  the  money  that  he  has  taken  years  to 
amass. 

The  temporary  marriage  is  a  time-honoured  Persian 
institution,  if  one  can  judge  by  the  legend,  which  says 
that  Rustem,  the  Hercules  of  Persia,  contracted  such  a 
union  during  a  hunting  excursion  with  Taminek,  the 
daughter  of  the  King  of  Samengan,  of  which  a  son,  the 
celebrated  Zohrab,  was  born. 

It  existed  also  among  the  Arabs,  before  and  during 
Mahomet's  lifetime  ;  and  it  was  only  under  the  Caliphate 
of  Omar  that  it  was  abolished.  From  this  is  derived  its 
prohibition  in  the  Sunnite  Mohammedan  countries. 

The  Koran  and  the  Hadith,  or  Book  of  Traditions, 
do  not  mention  it,  and  the  Persians  have  concluded, 
therefore,  that  the  Prophet  permitted  it.  They  cite  in 
confirmation  of  this  the  tradition  by  which  Mahomet 
passed  over  such  unions  among  his  soldiers  during  his 
campaigns. 

The  Persian  law  and  their  religion  not  only  allow  it 
but  sanction  it,  pretending  that  it  has  been  established 

to  avoid  the  plague  of  prostitution. 
9 


130       QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

It  is  the  women  of  the  lower  class,  called  Sighehs,  or 
more  exactly  Mouti,  who  devote  themselves  to  it.  Their 
patrons  are  travellers,  or  those  who  fear  the  monotony  of 
a  prolonged  union,  or  simply  those  whose  wives  are  ill, 
and  also  those  betrothed  to  girls  not  yet  of  a  marriage- 
able age,  who  have  several  years  to  wait  before  they  can 
marry. 

When  his  choice  is  made,  the  would-be  husband  sends 
his  Vekil,  or  trustee,  to  come  to  an  arrangement  with  the 
Mo2itis  Vekil.  When  they  are  agreed  on  the  dowry  that 
the  man  is  to  give  to  the  woman,  they  have  recourse  to 
the  Mollah. 

According  to  the  law,  four  conditions  are  requisite  for 
the  validity  of  this  marriage  : — 

First,  the  contract,  which  must  be  made  by  a  man  of 
law  or  a  Mollah. 

Secondly,  that  the  woman  should  belong  to  one  of  the 
four  revealed  religions  :  Islamism,  Judaism,  Christianity, 
or  Zoroastrianism,  In  case  a  man  has  been  deceived 
and  has  married  a  woman  belonging  to  none  of  these 
religions,  he  must  be  careful  that  during  the  time  of  their 
union  she  does  not  drink  wine,  and  does  not  eat  any  of 
the  elements  considered  unclean.  There  are  some  minor 
conditions  which  go  with  this. 

Thirdly,  the  dowry,  which  may  be  more  disrespectfully 
spoken  of  as  the  "rent."  This  is  the  most  important 
feature.  It  must  be  of  a  nature  which  can  be  weighed 
or  measured — anything  from  gold  dust  to  corn — and 
whatever  amount  the  Motiii  will  accept.     It  must  be 


MARRIAGES  131 

described  in  detail  in  the  contract.  The  man  can  dissolve 
it,  but  in  this  case  he  must  pay  half  the  dowry  to  the 
woman,  if  they  have  been  living  together  less  than  the 
half  of  the  agreed  time ;  if  this  period  is  exceeded,  the 
dowry  must  be  paid  in  full  when  they  part. 

Fourthly,  the  definition  of  the  term  of  marriage,  which 
can  be  from  a  fraction  of  a  day  to  ninety-nine  years. 
When  the  fixed  period  is  over,  the  parties  may  renew 
it  if  they  choose.  The  woman  cannot  re-marry  before 
the  expiration  of  a  lunar  month,  this  lapse  of  time  ensur- 
ing that  she  is  not  enceinte.      If  that  be  the  case,  she 

o 

must  wait  four  months  and  ten  days.  The  parties  cannot 
divorce  or  inherit  from  each  other. 

When  the  contract  is  made,  the  Moutis  Vekil  address- 
ing the  man's  Vekil,  says,  "  Do  you  agree  to  give  me 
your  soul  according  to  the  conditions  made  ?  "  If  the  reply 
is  in  the  affirmative,  the  seals  of  the  Mollah  and  the  two 
Vekils  are  impressed  on  the  contract,  which  is  handed  to 
the  "lady,"  and  the  ceremony  is  over. 

Though  the  law  makes  no  provision  for  the  children, 
they  are  generally  acknowledged  by  the  father,  who 
provides  for  their  maintenance  until  they  can  support 
themselves. 

As  the  law  forbids  divorce  to  those  who  marry  tem- 
porarily, it  happens  sometimes  that  women  of  a  better 
social  position  have  recourse  to  this  marriage  in  order 
to  ensure  the  permanence  of  their  union. 

It  is  useless  to  speak  of  the  deplorable  effects 
which  result  from  these  marriages.     One  can  cite  as  an 


132      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

example  what  happens  in  the  provinces  of  Ghilan  and 
Mazanderan,  where  every  year  at  the  time  of  the  rice 
harvest  the  peasants  marry  temporarily  such  women  as 
they  judge  necessary  to  help  them  in  their  work,  and 
when  the  winter  comes  and  the  contract  expires,  abandon 
them,  and  may  or  may  not  marry  the  same  wives  next 
year. 


CHAPTER   XV 


DIVORCE 


Divorce  is  obtained  in  Persia  most  easily.  However, 
it  is  common  only  among  the  lower  classes.  The  men 
of  the  upper  classes  have  recourse  to  it  rarely,  because  of 
the  scandal  attached  to  it,  and  because  they  do  not  like 
a  woman  who  has  penetrated  the  intimacy  of  their  life 
to  divulge  its  secrets. 

According  to  the  Shara,  it  must  be  pronounced  by 
the  husband  in  the  presence  of  two  witnesses.  The 
Arabic  formula  is  the  only  valid  one.  It  can  be  expressed 
in  three  ways  :  "  Enli  talekoun,  Thou  divorced,"  "  Folanet 
talekoun.  Such  a  one  is  divorced,"  or  '"'  Hazi  talekoun. 
This  one  is  divorced."  It  must  be  expressed  distinctly 
and  spoken,  for  if  written  it  has  no  value  unless  it  is 
necessitated  by  dumbness.  When  the  formula  has  been 
pronounced,  the  woman  must  cover  herself  with  a  veil, 
retire  to  her  apartment,  and  not  allow  herself  to  be  seen 
for  a  lunar  month.  If  he  has  only  one  wife,  the  husband 
has  no  need  to  mention  her  name.  If  he  has  several,  it 
is  important  that  he  should  pronounce  it  in  the  formula, 
for  if  he  does  not,  it  is  only  by  drawing  lots  that  the 
woman  who  is  to  be  divorced  can  be  designated.     The 


133 


134      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

divorce  cannot  be  pronounced  by  a  husband  under  ten 
years  of  age  or  of  unsound  mind. 

It  depends,  therefore,  entirely  on  the  will  of  the 
husband,  who,  under  the  pretext  that  the  wife  is  bad- 
tempered,  barren,  extravagant,  excessively  lean,  invalid, 
or  blind,  can  repudiate  her.  Adultery  does  not  enter  this 
category,  because  death  settles  that. 

There  are  reasons  for  repudiation  even  more  remark- 
able in  our  eyes.  The  man  who,  being  already  married, 
is  ambitious  of  having  a  princess  as  his  wife,  must  have 
recourse  to  divorce  to  get  rid  of  his  existing  wives :  this 
is  the  only  case  where  polygamy  is  forbidden.  Occasion- 
ally a  new  and  very  much  loved  wife  will  demand  that 
those  who  are  already  in  the  enderoun  should  be 
repudiated. 

The  only  drawback  for  the  husband  is  that  he  must 
pay  the  dowry  if  the  action  is  his.  For  this  reason 
husbands  are  to  be  found,  who,  in  order  to  avoid  this 
nuisance,  ill-treat  and  beat  their  wives  till  they  themselves 
move  for  divorce — since  in  that  case  there  is  no  necessity 
to  pay  anything. 

On  her  side,  the  woman  who  wants  to  divorce  her 
husband  without  losing  her  dowry,  can,  if  she  is  dealing 
with  a  weak  husband,  have  recourse  to  the  same  means, 
and  make  his  life  insupportable  in  order  to  force  him  to 
repudiate  her. 

When  she  wants  to  obtain  a  divorce,  the  woman 
goes  to  the  Mollah,  and  shows  the  sole  of  her 
slipper. 


DIVORCE  135 

As  always  in  Mussulman  countries,  the  law  favours 
the  husband. 

If  it  is  in  a  passion  that  he  repudiates  his  wife,  the 
divorce  is  effective  only  when  he  has  pronounced  it 
three  times. 

If  after  having  signified  his  desire  to  divorce  her,  he 
changes  his  mind,  the  divorce  is  annulled.  But  when 
he  has  done  it  three  times  he  has  no  longer  the  power  to 
take  back  his  wife,  unless  she  has  married  somebody 
else,  and  is  freed  by  his  divorce  or  death.  In  the  case 
of  a  slave,  a  time  and  a  half  is  sufficient,  as  they  are  liable 
to  only  half  of  the  punishments  inflicted  on  free  women. 
To  avoid  the  difficulty  of  determining  what  once  and  a 
half  means,  the  doctors  of  the  law  have  made  once  and 
a  half  count  as  twice. 

As  Heaven  is  always  open  to  making  arrangements, 
the  husband  has  a  loophole  for  taking  back  the  wife  who 
has  been  three  times  repudiated.  The  law  having  fixed 
as  a  minimum  term  for  this  union  one  night,  which  must 
be  spent  in  the  house  of  the  husband,  recourse  is  made  to 
accommodating  men  who  for  the  sake  of  a  sum  of  money 
marry  the  "lady  "  in  question  and  undertake  to  repudiate 
her  on  the  next  morning. 

The  stories  they  tell  in  Persia  to  illustrate  the 
workings  of  the  law  are  some  of  them  very  amusing. 
The  best,  perhaps,  is  that  of  the  ill-tempered  old 
merchant  of  Nishapur,  who,  in  a  fit  of  passion,  divorced 
a  beautiful  and  highly  connected  young  wife  for  the 
third  time.     She  went  back  to  her  father's  house,  and 


136      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

tried  her  best  to  win  her  family  over  to  her  side.  But 
it  was  in  vain — not  only  had  her  old  ruffian  of  a  husband 
won  their  consent  to  her  marriage  by  the  largeness  of 
the  dowry  he  had  offered,  but  he  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  giving  them  handsome  presents  ever  since. 

The  only  friend  she  had  in  the  house  was  her  old 
nurse,  who  for  reasons  of  her  own  was  very  anxious 
that  she  should  marry  a  man  called  Omar,  a  Turkoman 
of  great  personal  beauty  and  high  birth,  who  was 
brother  to  the  favourite  wife  of  the  governor  of  the 
town,  but  very  poor,  because  he  had  offended  his  father. 

The  nurse  desired  to  find  a  rich  and  beautiful  wife 
for  Omar,  but  knew  that  the  parents  of  the  old  merchant's 
divorced  wife  would  never  consent  to  her  marriage  with 
a  poor  Turkoman  ;  so  she  was  in  despair  as  to  how  she 
should  carry  out  her  purpose,  until  the  merchant  himself 
put  the  game  into  her  hands. 

As  soon  as  his  fury  had  worn  off,  he  fell  into  a 
passion  of  regret  at  having  lost  such  a  charming  and 
beautiful  wife,  but  as  he  had  pronounced  the  decree  of 
divorce  three  times,  he  could  only  get  her  back  by  her 
marrying  again  and  losing  her  new  husband  by  death 
or  divorce. 

There  was  no  reason  why  this  should  present  any 
great  difficulty  or  delay,  because  in  Persia  it  is  not 
difficult  to  find  a  man  of  sufficiently  good  appearance 
and  position  who  is  so  badly  off  as  to  be  willing,  for  the 
sake  of  a  hundred  tomans,  to  marry  the  woman  under 
an  oath  to  divorce  her  after  the  shortest  possible  period 


Persian  dancers,  from  ancient  pictures. 


[Collection  of  the  A  uthov. 


DIVORCE  137 

of  marriage,  which  is  one  day.  This  is  no  sinecure,  for 
the  Persians  have  such  a  genius  for  derision,  that  to  do 
such  an  undignified  thing  is  to  lay  yourself  open  to 
ridicule  for  the  rest  of  your  life. 

Then  the  intrigue  began  :  the  nurse  sang  the  charms 
of  Omar  to  the  girl.  Omar's  sister,  the  governor's 
favourite  wife,  who  had  seen  the  girl  at  the  baths, 
inflamed  his  passion  with  descriptions  of  her  beauty 
and  his  mind  with  the  amount  of  her  dowry. 

The  pair  were  deeply  in  love  with  each  other  before 
ever  their  eyes  met. 

The  next  thing  to  do  was  to  contrive  that  the  choice 
of  a  temporary  husband  made  by  the  old  merchant's 
agent  should  fall  on  Omar. 

Omar  showed  all  the  Oriental's  subtle  power  of 
intrigue  in  placing  himself  incidentally  in  the  path  of  the 
agent,  and  in  inspiring  him  with  the  requisite  idea  that 
he  was  a  man  of  high  family  and  in  desperate  cir- 
cumstances owing  to  his  inflexible  adherence  to  his 
word. 

The  agent  approached  Omar.  Omar  repulsed  him, 
saying  that  whether  he  was  poor  or  not  could  not  be  of 
the  slightest  consequence  to  the  agent. 

The  latter,  imagining  that  he  had  found  exactly  the 
right  man  for  the  affair,  at  once  began  on  his  side  to 
intrigue  to  secure  him,  and  was  at  length  successful. 

The  understanding  was  that  Omar  should  receive 
one  hundred  tomans  if  he  would  marry  the  girl  and  on 
the  next  morning  divorce  her. 


138      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

The  old  merchant  chose  a  very  lonely  house  in  the 
outskirts  of  the  city  for  the  wedding  night  of  his  wife 
and  Omar,  because  he  wished  everything  to  be  done 
as  secretly  as  possible. 

The  marriage  duly  took  place,  and  on  the  following 
morning  the  merchant  went  to  claim  the  fulfilment  of 
the  bargain.  But  when  he  arrived  there  he  was  met 
by  two  savage  Turkoman  warriors,  who  made  him  hold 
their  horses,  and  by  and  by  twenty  more  of  them  rode 
up,  headed  by  their  chief. 

It  soon  appeared  that  Omar  and  his  lovely  young 
bride  had  not  the  least  intention  of  seeking  for  a  divorce  ; 
that  they  had  only  married  in  this  way  to  overcome  the 
opposition  of  the  bride's  family.  But  anticipating  that 
the  merchant  would  use  every  means  in  his  power  to 
compel  the  fulfilment  of  the  bargain,  Omar  had  sent 
word  to  his  father,  the  Turkoman  chief,  that  he  had 
secured  a  rich  and  beautiful  wife,  and  should  need  his 
aid  in  carrying  her  off.  The  father  promptly  received 
Omar  back  into  his  favour,  and  rode  with  a  score  of 
tribesmen  to  help  him.  The  fact  that  the  place  chosen 
by  the  merchant  to  keep  things  secret  was  so  lonely  and 
out  of  the  way  made  this  very  easy. 

Presently  Omar  and  his  bride  came  out,  and  were 
escorted  to  the  mountains  by  the  Turkomans,  who  left 
two  of  their  number  with  the  merchant  to  prevent  him 
giving  the  alarm  till  they  had  a  sufficient  start. 

The  merchant  lodged  a  complaint  with  the  governor, 
but  was  put  off  on  one  excuse  after  another  :  now  the 


DIVORCE  139 

governor  was  111,  now  he  had  gone  away  on  a  hunting 
expedition.  At  length  the  merchant  remembered  that 
the  governor's  favourite  wife  was  the  sister  of  Omar, 
and  then  he  went  about  his  business,  a  sadder  and  a 
wiser  man. 


CHAPTER   XVI 


POLYGAMY 


Polygamy  is  less  general  in  Persia  than  one  would 
believe.  We  found  our  ideas  of  Oriental  harems  upon 
the  exceptions,  of  which  we  naturally  hear  most.  For 
example,  as  we  are  told  that  Nasr-ed-din  left  fifteen 
hundred  widows,  we  cannot  imagine  the  smallest  harem 
without  a  profusion  of  women.  The  harem,  properly 
speaking,  is  a  luxury ;  and  just  as  there  are  men  in 
Europe  who  have  no  motor  car,  so  there  are  men  in 
Persia  who  have  no  harem.  The  harem  of  Nasr-ed-din 
was  so  extensive  because  he  never  missed  an  opportunity 
of  augmenting  it.  This  dashing  sovereign  often  recruited 
young  women  on  his  hunting  and  shooting  expeditions. 
He  had  a  marked  predilection  for  young  peasant  girls, 
and  when  he  was  passing  a  village  would  sometimes  send 
his  eunuchs  into  it  to  order  the  male  population  to  dis- 
appear, and  the  female  population  to  dress  in  their  best 
and  draw  up  in  two  lines  in  the  principal  street  for  His 
Majesty  to  inspect  them. 

As  Shah  he  had  the  power  of  life  or  death  over  all 
his  subjects,  and  was  also  legally  lord  and  master  of  all 
their  women,  married  or  not. 

140 


POLYGAMY  141 

When  everything  was  ready,  he  came,  escorted  by 
his  eunuchs,  and  passed,  often  remaining  on  horseback, 
with  as  much  seriousness  as  if  it  was  a  military  review, 
between  the  two  lines  of  provoking  and  languishing 
looks  and  smiles.  For  if  the  ideal  of  every  male  Persian 
is  to  become  Grand  Vizier,  every  Persian  woman 
cherishes  the  hope  of  becoming  a  wife  of  the  Shah. 
Her  family  shares  her  hope,  for  showers  of  presents  and 
favours  rain  upon  the  relatives  of  the  Lord's  Elect. 
When  Nasr-ed-din  chose  a  girl,  he  had  her  sent  straight 
to  Teheran,  where  she  received  lessons  in  etiquette, 
deportment,  and  sometimes  in  dancing.  If  it  was  dis- 
covered that  an  unmarried  woman  was  no  longer  a 
virgin  before  she  was  presented  to  the  Shah,  she  was 
returned,  if  she  was  not  poisoned. 

Her  sisters  often  accompanied  her  to  the  Royal 
harem,  intoxicated  with  visions  of  luxury,  gaiety,  and 
wealth.  When  the  Shah  chose  a  married  woman,  the 
husband  found  that  it  was  much  to  his  interest  :  the 
more  or  less  sumptuous  presents  indemnified  him  for  the 
loss  of  his  wife,  and  he  lost  no  time  in  finding  a  sub- 
stitute— or  several ;  for  the  mere  fact  of  having  had  in 
his  possession  a  wife  who  had  attracted  the  Royal  notice 
proved  that  he  brought  luck  to  those  connected  with 
him.  This,  added  to  the  weight  of  the  Royal  presents, 
turned  the  balance  heavily  in  his  favour  in  the  matri- 
monial market. 

These  women  whom  the  Shah  brought  back  from  his 
expeditions  seldom  achieved  the  position  of   legitimate 


142       QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

wives,  except  in  the  rare  instances  of  their  becoming 
mothers,  when  they  had  a  right  to  the  title  in  every 
respect.  But  they  and  their  suites  contributed  to  increase 
the  population  of  the  harem,  from  which  the  veterans  were 
never  discharged. 

There  were  also  the  women  sent  as  presents  to  His 
Majesty.  The  governors  of  the  provinces  sent,  as  they 
still  send,  beautiful  maidens  amongst  the  New  Year's 
offerings,  and  in  the  exchange  of  presents  between 
Oriental  sovereigns,  if  horses  are  always  to  be  found, 
it  is  no  less  true  that  there  are  always  young  girls  and 
young  boys.  This  custom  has  always  existed  in  the 
East.  We  find  it  in  a  letter  addressed  by  the  Governor 
of  Egypt  to  Mahomet  himself : — 

"  I  have  read  the  letter  in  which  you  Invite  me  to 
embrace  Islamism.  This  departure  deserves  reflection. 
I  knew  that  another  prophet  would  arise  (after  Jesus), 
but  I  imagined  that  he  would  appear  in  Syria.  In  any 
case,  I  have  received  your  envoy  with  high  honours. 
He  will  present  you  on  my  behalf  two  young  Copt  maidens 
of  noble  extraction.  I  have  added  to  this  present  a  white 
mule,  a  silver-grey  riding  ass,  garments  of  Egyptian 
linen,  choice  honey,  and  butter  "  [Akmed-benfosepk). 

After  each  of  his  visits  to  Constantinople  the  Shah 
brought  back  young  beauties  presented  by  the  Sultan. 
And  in  the  good  old  times  when  the  Caucasus,  the 
country  of  beautiful  women,   was   a    Persian   province, 


POLYGAMY  143 

the  governor  never  missed  sending  every  year  to  his 
sovereign  a  vast  number  of  young  Georgian  and  Cir- 
cassian slaves  of  both  sexes,  who,  distributed  among  the 
grandees  of  the  kingdom,  have  certainly  exercised  a 
great  influence  in  making  the  race  so  beautiful. 

All  these,  added  to  the  political  wives,  the  slaves, 
and  the  servants,  made  the  Royal  harem  a  regular 
barrack.  So  there  is,  then,  nothing  extraordinary  in 
Nasr-ed-din  leaving  fifteen  hundred  widows  at  his 
death. 

The  Shah's  widows,  apart  from  the  principal  wives 
who  had  their  fortunes  made,  and  became  Imperial 
widows,  were  generally  dismissed  by  his  successor,  and 
found  husbands  among  the  small  merchants  and  trades- 
men of  Teheran.  These  were  proud  to  take  women  who 
had  had  the  distinction  of  belonging  to  the  Royal  house- 
hold ;  for  even  if  the  wives  were  not  very  fascinating, 

they  still  had  the  halo  of  Royal  favour and  some 

jewels  and  a  little  money. 

The  grandfather  of  Nasr-ed-din,  Feth  Ali  Shah  the 
Magnificent,  had  a  harem  far  more  considerable.  It  is 
said  that  when  he  died  there  were  one  thousand  of  his 
descendants,  .  .  .  and  the  founder  of  the  dynasty  was 
a  eunuch ! 

But  it  is  not  from  the  Royal  harem  that  one  must 
derive  one's  ideas  of  polygamy  in  Persia.  Mahomet 
allowed  four  legitimate  wives  to  the  ordinary  believer ; 
the  caliphs  and  the  sovereign,  of  course,  are  above  that. 
Mahomet  himself  had  nine  wives,  without  counting  the 


144      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

'*  slaves  of  the  right  hand  "  taken  in  the  wars  against  the 
infidels. 

To  some  of  his  followers  who  remarked  on  it  he 
answered  as  is  found  in  the  Koran  :  "  Do  not  desire  to 
be  equal  to  him  whom  God  has  raised  above  you.  The 
portion  of  everyone  will  be  the  fruit  of  his  labours. 
Ask  the  mercy  of  the  Lord.  He  has  the  knowledge  of 
all  things!"  (Soura  iv.  Women,  ver.  36). 

And  the  Koran,  chap,  xxxiii.  (the  Conspirators), 
ver.  49,  says  :  "  O  Prophet,  it  is  permitted  to  thee  to 
marry  the  women  that  thou  hast  dowered,  the  captives 
that  God  has  made  fall  into  thy  hands,  the  daughters  of 
thy  uncles  and  of  thy  aunts,  who  have  fled  with  thee,  and 
every  faithful  woman  who  may  give  her  heart  to  thee. 
It  is  a  privilege  that  we  accord  to  thee." 

And  ver.  50 :  '*  We  know  the  laws  of  marriage  that 
we  have  established  for  the  faithful.  Do  not  fear  that 
thou  wilt  transgress  in  using  thy  rights.  God  is  indulgent 
and  merciful." 

Nearly  all  the  Prophet's  wives  were  political ;  there 
was  only  one  virgin,  the  daughter  of  Abou-Bekr.  It  is 
from  this  that  the  name  of  her  father  came  :  Abou-Bekr 
means  the  father  of  the  virgin.  To  his  four  legitimate 
wives  a  man  is  allowed  to  add  as  many  concubines  as  he 
can  support,  but  he  is  ordered  not  to  forget  their  comfort. 
To  show  an  example,  Mahomet  had  a  separate  house  for 
each  of  his  wives,  in  which  she  had  her  own  servants ; 
and  he  made  an  attempt,  in  spite  of  the  predilection  he 
had  for  Ayesha,  not  to  show  favour  to  one  more  than  to 


V 

■a 
c 

3 

o 
u 

s 


N 

< 

3 
O 
■ 

< 


£ 
o  ^ 

5  " 

II 

1  <f> 

n  eg 
^>. 

V 

c 

a 

e 


(0 

3 
O 

E 


POLYGAMY  145 

another,  not  to  visit  one  more  than  another,  so  as  not  to 
make  them  jealous.  However,  he  says  in  the  Koran  : 
•*  You  will  not,  in  spite  of  your  efforts,  be  able  to  love 
your  wives  equally ;  but  you  must  keep  the  balance 
even  between  them"  (Soura  iv.  ver.  128). 

The  Persian  in  general  is  contented  with  one  legi- 
timate wife.  If  he  tried  to  have  several,  the  troubles 
which  would  befall  his  home  would  very  soon  drive  him 
to  the  divorce  court,  and  bring  him  back  to  monogamy. 
For  every  legitimate  wife  desires  to  be  the  mistress  of 
the  house  ;  and  unless  the  birth  or  fortune  of  one  puts 
her  in  a  situation  so  superior  to  the  others  as  to  compel 
them  to  bow  to  her  will,  the  wives  will  quarrel  to  such  a 
degree,  and  make  each  other  so  miserable,  that  the  poor 
husband  will  suffer.  It  is,  in  fact,  very  rare  for  several 
wives  of  equal  position  to  live  in  harmony.  When  they 
hate  each  other — and  God  knows  what  excellent  reasons 
they  have  for  that — they  are  driven  to  expedients  of 
which  poison  is  not  the  worst :  nor  is  poisoning  un- 
common. 

The  sensible  Persian  contents  himself  with  the  wife 

who  has  been  chosen  for  him  by  his  parents,  and  when 

he    thinks    proper    he    relieves    the   monotony    of    his 

enderoun  by  the  purchase  of  a  beautiful   young  slave. 

This  personage,  as  she  remains  a  slave,  does  not  affect 

the  position  of  the  legitimate  wife,  whom  she  is  bound 

to  obey.      However,  jealousy  may  none  the  less  drive 

the   wife  to   hate   the   slave   if  she    is   too  young   and 

beautiful,  and  this  poor  creature  will  find  only  a  very  thin 
10 


146      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

shield  in  the  love  of  her  master  against  the  poisoned 
darts  of  the  neglected  wife.  The  latter  will  inflict  a 
variety  of  torments  on  her.  The  lack  of  education  in  the 
Persian  woman  keeps  her  at  such  a  very  low  level  of 
mentality,  that  she  will  not  reject  the  most  ignoble  means 
in  her  attempts  to  overthrow  and  dethrone  her  rival ; 
and  if  she  still  has  a  little  authority  over  her  husband, 
either  in  virtue  of  her  fortune  or  of  her  family,  she  will 
take  the  opportunity  of  inflicting  some  corporal  punish- 
ment even  for  the  slightest  fault. 

The  prospect  of  such  a  home  would  encourage  the 
Persian  to  remain  a  bachelor  if,  for  one  thing,  the  fact  of 
being  a  bachelor  were  not  in  bad  odour  ;  and  for  another, 
he  were  not  confident  in  the  superiority  of  the  rights 
conferred  on  his  sex  proving  sufficient  to  enforce  peace 
in  his  home.  As  with  us,  this  depends  much  upon  his 
energy.  For  when  the  wife  sees  the  opportunity  of 
acquiring  absolute  power,  she  makes  a  point  of  over- 
doing it.  Stories  about  shrews  are  very  popular ; 
there  is  something  farcical  or  mythological  about  most 
Persian  stories.  The  following  is  a  fair  example  of 
them  : — 

A  man  had  a  wife  who  was  the  plague  of  his  life. 
At  last  he  could  bear  it  no  longer,  and  threw  her  down 
a  well,  determined,  no  matter  what  should  happen,  to 
abandon  her  to  her  fate.  But  three  days  later  he  relented, 
and  let  a  rope  down  the  well  for  her  to  come  up  by  if 
she  was  still  alive.  Instead  of  her  a  huge  dragon  came 
up.     The  man  was  terribly  frightened  ;  he  felt  sure  that 


POLYGAMY  147 

the  dragon  would  devour  him  ;  but  instead  of  devouring 
him,  it  overwhelmed  him  with  gratitude  and  promises  of 
favours  for  having  delivered  it  from  the  society  of  such 
a  terrible  companion.  As  the  reward  for  leaving  his 
wife  in  the  well,  the  dragon  entered  into  a  conspiracy 
with  him.  It  arranged  to  go  and  coil  itself  round  the 
body  of  the  king's  daughter.  Then,  after  the  astrologers 
and  magicians  had  used  all  their  skill  in  vain  in  the 
attempt  to  deliver  her,  the  man  was  to  come  to  the 
king,  and  say,  "  Sire,  I  am  the  only  person  who  can 
save  your  daughter ;  if  I  do  not  succeed,  you  may 
kill  me." 

The  dragon  would  recognise  him  and  release  her, 
and  the  king  would  of  course  recompense  the  saviour  of 
his  daughter  with  splendid  presents.  The  dragon  made 
it  a  stipulation  that  if  he  seized  any  other  princess  the 
man  was  not  to  interfere,  on  penalty  of  death. 

The  plot  was  duly  put  into  execution.  The  dragon 
went  and  coiled  himself  round  the  daughter  of  the 
Shah,  and  after  every  remedy  had  been  tried  without 
success,  the  man  came  and  presented  himself  before 
the  Shah,  saying,  "  Sire,  I  am  the  only  person  who  can 
save  your  daughter ;  if  I  do  not  succeed,  you  may 
kill  me." 

Then  the  dragon  knew  him,  and  went  away,  leaving 
the  princess  free ;  and  the  king  bestowed  her  upon  her 
deliverer,  and  gave  him  an  enormous  fortune. 

After  a  time  the  dragon  went  and  coiled  itself  round 
the  body  of  a  princess  of  Franghistan.      The  King  of 


148      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

Franol"iistan,  who  had  heard  of  the  marvellous  rescue  ot 
the  Shah's  daughter,  sent  an  embassy  loaded  with  costly 
presents  to  the  Court  of  Persia,  praying  her  rescuer  to 
come  and  free  his  daughter  also.  But  the  man  re- 
membered what  he  had  promised  the  dragon,  and  was 
afraid  to  go. 

His  Royal  father-in-law  naturally  did  not  understand 
the  reason,  and  was  furious,  and  insisted  that  he  should 


go- 


At  last  the  man  had  to  go,  but  he  was  in  terror  what 
would  happen  to  him  for  breaking  his  contract  with 
the  dragon.  So  his  journey  was  very  gloomy,  and  he 
was  shaken  with  nervousness  until  at  the  last  moment 
an  idea  came  to  him. 

When  he  arrived  in  the  presence  of  the  dragon  and 
the  princess,  he  said  to  the  dragon,  "  I  have  not 
broken  my  word.  I  did  not  come  to  deliver  the 
princess,  but  only  to  tell  you  that  my  wife  has  succeeded 
in  getting  out  of  the  well,  and  is  coming  to  avenge 
herself  upon  you  as  quickly  as  she  can." 

The  dragon,  remembering  the  terrible  time  he  had 
had  with  her,  flew  away,  for  he  knew  the  proverb  that  it 
is  better  to  dwell  in  a  wilderness  than  with  a  querulous  and 
angry  woman. 

Here  is  another  bazar  story  : — 

In  Persia  a  wealthy  or  powerful  man  always  has 
hangers-on,  who  are  not  servants,  and  do  not  receive 
any  pay,  but  live  in  his  shadow,  eat  his  food,  ride  his 
horses,  sometimes  even  wear  his  old  clothes,  and  above 


Joseph  entering  Zuleikha's  harem. 


Photo  bv  P.  Bataille. 


[Collection  of  the  Author. 


POLYGAMY  149 

all  enjoy  his  protection.     They  are  his  *' men."    In  return 
they  render  all  sorts  of  services  when  they  get  a  chance, 
and  of  course  make  his  retinue  look  more  important. 
Abd-Oullah   was   such   a   friend    to   Ali-Khan,    a   very 
wealthy  and  influential  merchant  of  Ispahan,  who  was  so 
delighted  with  his  charm  and  cleverness,  and  so  pleased 
with  his   services,   that  he   thought   he  would  make  a 
very  good  son-in-law,  and  suggested  him  as  such  to  his 
beautiful  daughter.     She  was  very  overbearing  and  bad- 
tempered,  and  thinking  that  he  was  rather  nice-looking 
and  that  she  would  have  a  pull  over  him  with  her  money, 
agreed  to  it.     So  they  were  married.     Soon  his  friends 
came   to    congratulate   him,    amongst    them    Houssein, 
who  was  known  to  have  a  very  overbearing  and  bad- 
tempered  wife.      He  said,   "  I   congratulate  you  on  your 
marriage."     Abd- Allah  replied,   "  I   am  so  pleased  that 
my  happiness  gives  so  much  gratification  to  my  friends." 
Houssein    was    astonished,    and   continued,    "Are    you 
really  happy  with  a  woman  who  is  known  to  have  such 
a  bad  temper  ? "     "I   assure  you  that   she  is  perfectly 
charming,  and  that  I  am  perfectly  happy."     "  May  I  ask 
how  you  manage  it  ?  "     "  Certainly.     On  the  night  of  my 
marriage  I  went  into  her  apartments  in  uniform  with  my 
sword  on.     She  did  not  take  any  notice  of  me,  but  put 
on  a  supercilious  air  and  made  a  parade  of  stroking  her 
cat.     I  quietly  picked  up  the  cat  and  cut  off  his  head  with 
my  sword ;  took  the  head  in  one  hand,  the  body  in  the 
other,  and  threw  them  out  of  the  window.     My  bride  was 
amazed,  but  she  did  not  show  it ;  and  after  a  few  seconds 


150      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  TERSIA 

she  broke  into  a  smile,  and  has  been  a  most  submissive 
and  charminc:  wife  ever  since."  Houssein  went  straight 
home,  and  as  soon  as  it  was  night-time  put  on  his  uniform 
and  went  into  the  harem.  The  domestic  pet  came  to 
greet  him  ;  he  seized  it  with  the  hand  that  was  accustomed 
to  caress  it,  drew  his  sword,  and  with  a  single  blow 
decapitated  it.  At  the  same  moment  he  received  a  blow  in 
the  face,  and  before  he  had  recovered  from  his  astonish- 
ment a  second  and  a  third,  and  between  the  blows  his 
wife  hissed  out,  "  I  can  see  to  whom  you  have  been 
speaking — but  you  are  too  late  ;  it  was  on  the  first  night 
that  you  ought  to  have  done  this." 

The  husband  of  a  princess  of  the  Imperial  tribe 
cannot  have  any  other  wife.  He  is  under  her  absolute 
control,  and  must  submit  to  her  wishes. 

If  she  is  not  faithful  to  him,  he  can  only  recognise  the 
fact  and  keep  his  complaints  to  himself. 

Polygamy  is  more  ordinary  in  the  country  districts, 
where  women  help  their  husbands  in  their  work. 

There  are  very  few  instances  of  European  women 
having  married  Persians,  but  a  Swiss  governess  of  the 
children  of  an  ex- Secretary  of  the  Persian  Legation  in 
Vienna  married  him  when  they  came  to  Teheran,  and 
she  lives  like  a  Persian  woman  in  the  enderoun,  and 
goes  out  in  the  "  black  phantom "  dress  worn  by  the 
Mussulman  women.  She  is  not  happy.  A  French- 
woman is  also  said  to  have  tried  the  harem  life, 
and    to    have    been  so    well    satisfied  with    it  that    she 


POLYGAMY  151 

refused  to  leave  it  when  her  parents  came  to  take  her 
away. 

The  most  curious  story  in  this  connection  is  that  of 
Kitty  Greenfield,  the  daughter  of  an  ex-British  resident 
who  died  in  Persia,  where  he  had  property.  Kitty  fell 
in  love  with  the  wild  beauty  of  a  Kurdish  chief,  and  as 
her  mother,  an  Armenian,  with  whom  she  lived  near 
Sauj-Boulak,  on  the  estate  left  by  her  father,  very  astutely 
opposed  the  match,  which  appeared  to  her  monstrous, 
Kitty  was  abducted  by  her  lover  on  horseback.  Pretty, 
seventeen  years  old,  and  rich,  she  was  a  prize  for  the 
Kurdish  chief,  who  took  her  to  his  house  in  Sauj-Boulak, 
where  the  marriage  was  celebrated.  In  order  to  belong 
more  entirely  to  her  ravisher,  she  became  a  Mussulman. 
Her  mother  in  despair  had  recourse  to  the  English 
Legation,  who  referred  the  complaint  to  the  Shah.  Orders 
were  immediately  given  to  compel  the  Kurdish  chief  to 
give  up  the  young  woman,  and  to  take  her  away  by 
force  in  case  he  refused.  The  Kurd  called  the  whole 
tribe  to  his  aid,  and  made  an  armed  resistance  to  the 
authorities  of  the  province.  The  Shah  was  furious,  and 
ordered  troops  to  be  sent,  which  blockaded  Sauj-Boulak, 
and  it  was  only  after  a  serious  action,  in  which  the  Kurds 
were  surrounded,  that  they  decided  to  give  up  Kitty,  who 
was  put  in  a  place  of  security  to  await  the  orders  of  the 
Shah.  A  few  days  afterwards  His  Majesty  ordered  her 
to  be  freed,  and,  to  the  amazement  and  horror  of  all 
Europeans,  she  declared  her  wish  to  go  back  to  her 
husband  ;  and  as,  according  to  the  Mussulman  law  known 


152      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

as  the  Jedid-oul- Islam,  every  Christian  converted  to 
Mohammedanism  has  the  right  to  claim  all  the  properties 
of  the  family,  the  Kurdish  chief  had  recourse  to  the  law, 
and  the  property  in  which  the  mother  of  Kitty  had  a  life 
interest  would  have  been  taken  from  her  if  the  attempt 
had  not  been  frustrated  by  the  British  Legation. 
The  fate  of  Kitty  is  not  known. 


CHAPTER   XVII 


THE    shah's    harem 


With  the  exception  of  the  Shah  and  the  eunuchs,  no 
men  but  a  few  doctors  are  permitted  to  enter  that  sanctu- 
ary the  harem  of  the  Shah — harem  being  an  Arab  word 
which  means  sacred.  A  medical  man,  who  shall  be  called 
Solyman  to  preserve  his  incognito,  lifted  for  me  the  corner 
of  the  jealous  veil  which  envelopes  this  feminine  city.  He 
first  secured  his  footing  in  the  enderoun  in  this  manner. 
The  secluded  life  and  the  lack  of  education  make  the 
women  of  the  enderoun  very  difficult  patients.  Dr. 
Solyman  complains  bitterly  of  their  childish  naivet^  and 
superstition,  which  obliged  him  to  depend  more  on  diplo- 
matic talent  than  medical  science. 

When  he  came  back  from  London,  where  he  had 
spent  some  years  at  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital,  he  was 
appointed  one  of  the  doctors  of  the  harem  of  His  Majesty. 
His  d^but  was  difficult,  for  the  other  Persian  doctors, 
jealous  of  his  science,  and  fearing  to  see  him  grow  at 
their  expense,  leagued  against  him.  They  criticised  his 
prescriptions,  and  advised  the  patients  not  to  take  the 
medicines  prepared  by  a  man  who  had  remained  so  long 
in  contact  with  unclean  Christians  that  he  was  impreg- 

163 


154      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

nated  with  their  impurity ;  and,  further,  his  prescriptions 
were  declared  to  be  contrary  to  all  the  principles  laid 
down  by  the  "kings  of  medicine,"  Lokman,  Galen,  and 
Avicenna.  Had  he  not  ordered  a  patient  suffering  from 
fever  to  give  up  his  iced  drinks  for  a  hot  potion,  which 
is  the  surest  way  to  increase  fever,  since  Mahomet  him- 
self has  said  that  fever  is  the  fire  of  hell,  and  that  it  must 
be  combated  with  cold  water?  The  Prophet,  when  he 
was  attacked  by  a  violent  fever,  used  to  call  his  wives  to 
throw  cold  water  over  his  head. 

Dr.  Solyman,  in  spite  of  his  appointment  as  official 
doctor  of  the  harem,  was  not  consulted  by  any  of  the 
Imperial  wives.  Only  servants  and  slaves  had  recourse 
to  his  services. 

However,  on  a  hot  spring  afternoon,  when  he  was 
retained  to  attend  a  slave  of  the  Favourite,  whose  grave 
state  necessitated  his  constant  presence,  someone  came 
to  tell  him  that  the  princess,  who  was  having  her  siesta, 
had  started  out  of  her  sleep  screaming,  being  a  prey  to 
terrible  pains.  As  there  was  no  other  doctor  within  call, 
he  was  asked  to  come  and  attend  her. 

The  Favourite  was  in  the  zirzaniin,  the  underground 
chamber  with  a  low  vaulted  ceiling,  paved  with  white 
marble,  and  with  richly  tiled  walls,  which  is  the  favourite 
refuge  of  the  Persian  in  summer.  Sunk  in  the  centre 
was  a  fountain  with  a  jet  of  water  which  distributed  a 
refreshing  coolness.  A  crowd  of  women  surrounded  the 
princess.  She  was  lying  on  a  thin  mattress  spread  on 
the  marble  in  one  of  the  arched  recesses,  between  the  two 


•a 

3 


IS 


c 

3 
O 
h 

ac 

u 

V 

e 

3 


E 

N 

N 


THE  SHAH'S  HAREM  155 

doorways,  facing  each  other  to  create  a  continual  draught. 
These  are  the  characteristics  of  the  zirzamin. 

On  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Solyman,  the  women  drew  their 
veils  over  their  faces,  and  the  eunuch  rushed  to  the  gate 
and  stopped  him  while  a  curtain  was  erected  in  front  of 
the  recess  to  allow  the  doctor  to  approach  the  princess 
without  seeing  her.  When  the  doctor  was  at  her  side,  he 
could  at  first  only  elicit  moans  in  reply  to  his  questions ; 
but  the  patient  being  pressed  at  last  gave  him  to  under- 
stand, in  sentences  broken  by  lamentations,  that  after  her 
lunch  she  had  fallen  asleep  as  usual,  and  that  she  had 
seen  herself,  in  her  sleep,  surrounded  by  bad  djinns,  who 
had  pierced  her  chest  with  invisible  darts,  which  gave  her 
horrible  pains.  Upon  that,  to  the  astonishment  of  the 
people  present,  Dr.  Solyman  turned  to  the  eunuch  and 
asked,  without  paying  any  attention  to  the  djinns,  what 
the  princess  had  eaten  for  lunch.  When  he  learned  that 
her  mdnu  consisted  of  iced  mast-khyar  (cucumber  and 
curds),  he  understood  that  nothing  was  the  matter  except 
indigestion.  However,  being  a  conventional  man,  he 
wanted  to  draw  an  exact  diagnosis  of  the  case.  She 
consented  to  let  him  feel  her  pulse,  and  an  arm  emerged 
from  the  curtain.  He  felt  the  pulse,  but  when  he  desired 
to  see  the  tongue  he  had  to  enter  on  a  lengthy  parley 
before  the  curtain  opened  far  enough  to  let  the  princess, 
closely  veiled,  show  him  the  tip  of  her  tongue.  Dr. 
Solyman  wrote  his  prescription,  and  the  mother  of  the 
princess,  a  very  superstitious  person,  performed  the 
Estekharek^  seized  her  beads  at  a  chance  place,  and  then 


156      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

began  to  tell  them  off  to  the  end,  as  we  count  cherry 
stones  on  a  plate.  The  result  was  favourable :  the  pre- 
scription could  be  taken.  But  at  the  same  moment  the 
regular  doctor  of  the  princess,  who  had  been  sent  for, 
arrived.  Everybody  turned  from  Dr.  Solyman  and  his 
prescription,  as  if  he  had  never  been  there. 

When  the  regular  doctor  had  prescribed  in  his  turn, 
the  Estekhareh  was  performed  again,  and  this  time  the 
result  was  unfavourable.  Heaven  had  declared  itself; 
Dr.  Solyman  triumphed.  His  prescription  produced  such 
a  good  and  prompt  effect  that  the  delighted  princess 
would  not  have  any  other  doctor  from  that  day  forward. 

•  •••••• 

Let  us  now  enter  the  Porte  des  Voluptes  with  Dr. 
Solyman.  It  is  in  the  orangery.  Is  this  by  the  irony  of 
fortune  or  by  the  symbolic  will  of  the  sovereign,  who 
wishes  to  surround  the  gate  of  his  harem  by  the  emblem 
of  virginity  ?  The  massive  gate,  adorned  with  golden 
locks  and  bolts,  was  formerly  guarded  by  two  gigantic 
deaf  and  dumb  negroes,  always  ready  to  fell  with  their 
clubs  of  silver  with  gold  spikes  any  rash  man  who  sought 
to  gather  the  golden  apples  of  these  Eastern  Hesperides. 
To-day,  fear  of  the  death  penalty  which  would  instantly 
be  inflicted  on  the  trespasser  has  taken  the  place  of  the 
negroes,  and  their  clubs  have  been  coined  into  money. 

Once  through  the  gate  you  are  in  a  courtyard  sur- 
rounded by  the  quarters  of  the  eunuchs.  There  are 
about  forty  in  the  Imperial  harem,  and  here  only  are  they 
numerous,  for  you  seldom  fmd  eunuchs  in  the  harems  of 


THE  SHAH'S  HAREM  157 

Persia  except  those  of  grandees.  The  eunuch  is  a  luxury  ; 
he  is  very  expensive  to  buy.  The  most  esteemed  are  the 
tall  bronzed  Abyssinian  and  the  black  of  the  Soudan.  A 
thousand  pounds  or  more  is  paid  for  one.  Pale  or  white 
eunuchs  bought  in  the  Persian  or  Turkish  markets  are 
less  valuable.  They  are  always  beardless,  and  generally 
ugly — sometimes  terribly,  repulsively  ugly.  Some  are 
lean  and  sickly-looking,  with  a  hanging  underlip  and  the 
grin  of  a  skull ;  others  are  corpulent  and  effeminate. 
Their  limbs  are  generally  disproportionately  long ;  their 
bodies  are  slouching  and  disjointed  ;  they  have  a  woman's 
mincing  gait,  and  cracked  falsetto  voices.  Their  passions 
are  excessive  ;  it  is  said,  also,  that  they  add  woman's  vices 
to  those  of  man.  This  is  why  they  do  not  enjoy  much 
confidence  from  their  masters  or  mistresses,  who  alter- 
nately buy  their  disequilibriated  consciences,  so  that  they 
cannot  be  considered  reliable  guards.  But  of  course  their 
master  has  the  power  of  life  and  death  over  them,  which 
makes  them  think  twice  before  winking  at  trespassers. 

They  no  longer  have  a  special  dress ;  they  are  attired 
like  other  men. 

As  there  are  exceptions  to  all  rules,  there  also  are 
eunuchs  endowed  with  "all  sorts  of  good  qualities." 
Among  them  may  be  mentioned  Aziz  Khan,  a  eunuch 
presented  by  Nazr-ed-din  Shah  to  the  ex-Grand  Vizier, 
Amin-es-Sultan.  He  accompanied  his  master  several 
times  to  Europe,  where  his  beauty  and  his  manners 
caused  him  to  be  taken  for  a  woman  dressed  as  a  man. 
He  enjoyed  a  certain  amount  of  influence  over  his  master. 


158       QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

He  lives  like  a  great  personage,  and  does  not  perform 
the  duties  of  his  profession.  The  confidant  of  the  Grand 
Vizier,  who  used  not  to  disdain  his  advice,  he  has  the 
establishment  which  suits  such  a  position,  and  also  the 
consideration — at  least  apparent — of  everybody.  He  was 
often  the  channel  to  which  people  had  recourse  if  they 
had  a  request  to  make  of  the  Grand  Vizier,  to  whom  he 
had  free  access.  The  principal  Imperial  wives  have 
their  own  eunuchs ;  the  other  women  are  in  the  charge 
of  a  corps  of  eunuchs,  who  acknowledge  the  authority  of 
the  Khadjeh-Bashi,  or  chief  eunuch. 

From  that  Eastern  corps  de  garde  a  corridor  leads 
to  a  second  gate,  which  opens  on  a  large  square  garden 
full  of  geometrical  parterres  of  shrubs  and  flowers,  with 
very  high  plane  trees  stripped  of  all  their  boughs  except 
a  tuft  at  the  top.  This  garden  is  surrounded  with  in- 
numerable quarters  for  the  Shah's  ladies,  buildings  of 
two  storeys,  which  have  a  brilliant  effect  as  they  encircle 
the  grounds  with  the  elaborate  tracery  of  their  arched 
windows — an  effect  enhanced  by  the  glitter  of  gorgeous 
tiles. 

In  this  huge  square  come  and  go  bevies  of  women  in 
the  national  indoor  costume,  with  an  immense  veil  of 
light  cotton  or  silk  laid  over  the  top  of  the  head,  in 
which  they  envelope  themselves  more  or  less,  or  leave  it 
open  and  trailing  on  the  ground. 

The  late  Shah  did  not  follow  the  example  of  his  pre- 
decessors. Dr.  Solyman  says  that  he  had  only  twelve 
wives.      The  enderoun  was  not  much  less  crowded  for 


THE  SHAH'S  HAREM  159 

that  reason,  for  the  relations,  the  slaves,  and  the 
servants  of  these  wives  —  musicians,  dancers,  fortune- 
tellers, jesters,  merchants,  all  of  them  necessarily 
females — rave   a   constant   animation    to    the    "Palais 

o 

des  Volupt^s," 

All  these  women  seemed  to  live  in  a  perpetual  antici- 
pation of  the  Judgment  of  Paris.  It  was  who  should 
be  the  most  beautiful ;  who  should  possess  the  most 
fascinating  wardrobe.  Jewels  and  precious  stones  ex- 
cited the  greatest  covetousness.  The  Shah  distributed 
them  prodigally,  and  on  his  birthday  and  at  the  New 
Year  he  gave  away  turquoises,  sapphire^  pearls,  rubies, 
emeralds,  even  diamonds,  by  handfuls. 

This  did  not  hinder  them  from  buying  jewels  on 
their  own  account  from  the  merchant  women  who  come 
into  the  harem.  They  desired  to  eclipse  their  rivals  by 
the  richness  of  the  fabrics  which  they  wore.  Silks  of 
Resht,  velvets  of  Kashan,  shawls  of  Kirman,  could  not 
be  too  expensive ;  and  fabrics  from  Europe  were  not  less 
popular.  Worth,  the  great  Parisian  dressmaker,  sells  off 
in  Teheran  his  special  silks,  when  they  are  left  on  his 
hands  long  enough  to  be  out  of  fashion.  He  had  a 
very  clever  lady  there  to  represent  him,  who  was  adored 
by  all  the  fair  of  Teheran. 

Often  a  woman  who  wants  to  be  the  only  possessor  of 
a  specialty  buys  the  whole  roll  at  no  matter  what  price. 
They  have  much  more  tendency  to  do  this  now,  for 
several  times  a  woman,  jealous  of  the  admiration  which 
a  rival  had  won  with  a  costume  of  a  new  material,  would 


160      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

buy  some  of  the  same  material,  and  have  a  costume 
made  of  it  for  one  of  her  slaves,  and  then  invite  the 
"dear  friend"  to  tea  served  by  that  slave.  The  rival's 
orratification  can  be  imagined. 

o  o 

«  ■  •  •  •  •  t 

In  the  middle  of  the  enderoun  garden  stands  a 
ravishing  white  palace,  square  in  shape,  two  storeys 
high,  culminating  in  a  terrace  with  an  openwork 
balustrade  supporting  vases  at  intervals.  This,  which 
is  suggestive  of  the  Yildiz  Kiosk  at  Constantinople,  is 
the  Khab-gah,  or  Palace  of  Sleep. 

There  is  a  very  low  ground  floor,  surrounded  by  a 
circular  colonnade  supporting  the  balcony  that  goes 
round  the  first  floor,  to  which  a  broad  white  marble 
staircase  of  fifteen  steps  gives  access. 

Numerous  French  windows,  very  high  and  wide, 
open  on  all  four  sides  of  the  house,  which  has  a  richly 
sculptured  cornice.  It  is  a  very  bright  and  white 
building,  loaded  with  delicate  sculptural  ornamentations. 
Here  the  present  Shah,  like  his  father  before  him,  sleeps 
under  a  guard  of  eunuchs  and  women,  who  have  this 
special  appointment ;  for  in  the  enderoun  the  func- 
tionaries of  the  biroun  are  duplicated. 

Among  the  chief  of  them  are  the  Privy-Confidante, 
the  Keeper  of  the  Chest,  the  Mistress  of  Ceremonies, 
the  Mistress  of  the  Wardrobe,  the  Keeper  of  the  Jewels, 
the  Sender-to-Sleep,  and  so  on. 

All  the  time  that  he  is  sleeping,  the  Shah  is  massaged. 

Since  every  Oriental  woman  wishes  to  have  a  child — 


THE  SHAH'S  HAREM  161 

for  the  sterile  woman  is  covered  with  opprobrium,  and 
sterility  spells  divorce — maternity  becomes  a  passion  for 
every  woman  of  the  Imperial  harem,  and  her  sole  object. 
A  child  is  the  most  valuable  pledge  of  the  favour  of  the 
King,  the  living  pledge  which  opens  the  largest  field  to 
ambitions — if  he  is  male.  Who  knows  that  this  son 
may  not  become  a  favourite  ?  His  mother  will  then  be 
loaded  with  favours  and  honours.  Therefore  there  is  no 
pilgrimage  from  which  a  woman  will  shrink,  no  sacrifice 
that  she  will  hesitate  to  make,  to  get  the  precious 
talisman  —  no  medicine  that  she  would  fear  to  take. 
Unscrupulous  doctors  and  dervishes  freely  exploit  the 
credulity  accentuated  in  these  grown-up  children  by  the 
passion  for  maternity.  The  most  extravagant  medicine 
and  charms  are  often  tried,  purchased  at  their  weight  in 
gold.  If  wolfs  gall  rubbed  on  the  abdomen  does  not 
succeed,  the  wife  will  try  the  swallowing  of  a  little  of 
the  sacred  earth  from  Kerbela.  One  wife,  with  whom 
all  these  attempts  had  been  unsuccessful,  was  advised,  as 
a  last  resort,  to  grate  every  day  a  piece  of  a  brick  which 
was  supposed  to  be  brought  from  the  tomb  of  a  holy 
Imam,  and  to  take  it  internally  after  early  morning 
prayer.  She  took  this  prescription  so  scrupulously  that 
after  a  while  she  died  of  it. 

Among  the  most  highly  esteemed  talismans  are  the 
dried  skin  of  a  hyaena,  monkey's  liver,  lynx's  hair,  and 
the  backbone  of  an  owl  —  not  to  mention  the  most 
amazing  decoctions  and  broths,  and  of  course  tran- 
scribed prayers  which  are  enclosed  in  leather  for  hanging 
II 


162      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

round  the  neck  and  waist,  or  invocations  and  sacred  or 
cabalistic  names  written  on  parchment,  which  is  washed 
in  a  cup  of  hot  water  for  the  ink  to  dissolve.  The  water 
is  then  regarded  as  impregnated  with  the  virtue  of  the 
words,  and  drunk  as  a  potion  when  making  a  wish.  If 
one  adds  a  pinch  of  the  powdered  muzzle  of  a  monkey 
—  which  is  made  by  charring  it  —  the  effect  is  much 
heightened. 

The  occupations  and  amusements  of  the  Shah's  wives 
are  restricted  and  little  varied.  Like  all  the  rich  Persian 
women,  they  never  use  their  fingers.  Even  embroidery 
and  lace-making  are  left  to  inferiors.  Most  of  the  time 
is  spent  in  idling,  chattering,  and  visiting,  always  relieved 
by  kalyans,  cups  of  tea,  and  sweetmeats. 

Like  their  less  fortunate  sisters,  generally  they  have 
no  education.  It  appears,  however,  that  some  of  the 
wives  of  the  late  sovereign  have  been  educated.  One 
of  them  has  the  reputation  of  being  literary — a  poetess. 
She  has  sung  the  praise  of  her  master  in  every  mood, 
and  all  the  marvels  of  creation  are  cited  in  her  poems  for 
comparison  with  the  King-of-Kings. 

Intrigue  is  also  one  of  their  favourite  occupations — 
intrigue  to  take  away  from  a  rival  the  favour  of  the 
King,  or  political  intrigue.  An  instinctive  diplomacy  is 
brought  into  action  in  these  cases  with  rare  ability. 
This  is  why  some  ambitious  men  have  recourse  to  the 
help  of  their  wives,  who,  by  presents  and  flattery, 
win  influential  support  in  the  Shah's  harem.  More 
than  one  important  afiair   has  been  brought  to  a  sue- 


THE  SHAH'S  HAREM  163 

cessful  conclusion,  more  than  one  favour  obtained 
thus. 

The  women  of  the  harem  are  childish  and  easily 
amused.  Marvellous  stories,  more  or  less  based  on  the 
Arabian  Nights,  in  which  the  details  relating  to  love 
are  recounted  with  inconceivable  crudity,  the  buffooneries 
of  old  women,  their  burlesque  imitations,  their  clownings, 
ravish  them.  One  of  these  has  won  in  Teheran  the  re- 
putation and  vogue  of  an  Yvette  Guilbert  with  us.  She 
tells  stories  and  illustrates  them  herself,  impersonating 
the  characters  of  the  romance.  She  imitates  with  as 
much  fidelity  the  shy  attitude  of  a  blushing  bride  as 
the  simpering  of  a  middle-aged  woman.  And  when  a 
dragon,  a  devil,  or  a  djinn  comes  into  the  plot,  she 
succeeds  in  pulling  the  skin  of  her  face,  turning  up  her 
nose  with  a  string,  turning  her  eyelids  out,  and  so  on, 
assuming  the  most  terrible  and  monstrous  aspects 
imaginable.  A  story  told  by  her  is  as  much  ap- 
preciated in  Teheran,  and  as  highly  paid,  as  a  mono- 
logue by  Chevalier  in  London. 

Music,  singing,  dancing,  are  popular.  There  is  a 
sort  of  academy  where  little  girls  with  promising  looks 
are  instructed  in  these  arts  with  a  view  to  the  Imperial 
enderoun. 

The  Rakkass,  or  dancers,  make  their  d^but  very 
early  ;  it  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  to  see  a  child  of  ten 
years  old  dancing  with  considerable  suppleness,  if  not 
grace. 

The  majority  of  them  are  supplied  by  the  nomad 


1G4      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

Susmani  tribe,  which  might  be  called  the  "gipsies  of 
Persia."  As  soon  as  their  daughters  and  sons  are  able 
to  walk  they  are  taught  the  first  steps  of  dancing.  Then 
their  vertebral  column  is  made  supple  by  making  them 
bend  their  heads  backwards  till  they  touch  the  ground — 
this  acrobatic  movement  is  highly  appreciated  in  the 
dance — next  they  learn  how  to  walk  on  their  hands ;  to 
turn  somersaults ;  to  balance  on  their  upturned  palms 
and  on  their  foreheads  glasses,  daggers,  or  peacocks' 
feathers.  Besides  the  rhythmic  steps,  which  have  little 
variety,  and  the  acrobatic  feats,  the  interest  of  the  dance 
is  heightened  by  pantomimic  scenes,  always  immodest, 
and  sometimes  obscene. 

It  is  the  languishing  movement  of  the  inamorata 
waiting  for  the  beloved.  He  comes  joyfully.  To  pro- 
voke him  she  flies  away.  He  pursues  and  captures  her 
with  a  long  gauze  scarf.  After  a  thousand  evolutions 
with  the  scarf  she  is  a  captive  and  his  slave.  She  will 
offer  him  her  heart  in  the  shape  of  the  rose  which  adorned 
her  bosom.  She  will  pluck  the  petals  from  her  heart 
and  rain  them  on  the  beloved's  moon-shaped  face,  while 
he,  in  elaborate  contortions,  will  show  his  agility  and 
strength.  Then  she  will  hand  him  the  cup  while  the 
bottle  of  wine  is  balanced  on  her  forehead.  But  jealousy 
intervenes  to  blacken  the  looks  of  the  beloved,  who, 
brandishing  a  dagger  in  each  hand,  menaces  her  with 
a  thousand  deaths.  She  soothes  him  with  voluptuous 
caresses,  and  they  prove  their  mutual  love  to  each  other. 
.  .  .  The  music  waxes  fast  and  furious ;  it  grows  quicker 


C 
IB 

E 

« 

3 


O 

u 

u 

B 
« 

a 

•a 


O 


THE  SHAH'S  HAREM  165 

and  quicker.  The  dancers  rise,  and  begin  spinning 
wildly  round  and  round,  until,  breathless,  foaming,  ex- 
hausted, they  sink  to  the  ground,  where  they  writhe, 
gasp,  and  swoon. 

The  rhythm  of  the  music  is  marked  with  the  cracking 
of  the  fingers  or  by  the  slapping  of  tiny  cymbals  attached 
to  the  thumb  and  second  finger. 

The  costumes  do  not  differ  much  from  the  ordinary 
indoor  dress  of  the  Persian  woman — only  by  the  addition 
of  straight  trousers  below  their  skirts  for  some,  and  long 
skirts  like  crinolines  for  the  others.  Their  hair  falls  in 
wavy  curls  down  their  shoulders. 

One  of  the  a  la  mode  dances  is  the  Franghi  dance, 
in  which  the  European  gait  is  imitated  and  ridiculed. 
The  costumes  used  for  this  are  more  or  less  European. 
Another  very  characteristic  dance,  recalling  those  which 
we  see  in  Turkey,  is  performed  with  the  feet  and  legs 
quite  still,  and  with  undulations  and  quiverings  of  the 
muscles  of  the  stomach,  breast,  and  arms. 

Of  course  the  dancers  are  considered  of  an  inferior 
rank ;  but  this  does  not  prevent  them  from  cherishing 
the  ambition  of  improving  their  position.  They  never 
forget  that  one  of  them  became  the  favourite  wife  of 
Feth  Ali  Shah.  Their  career  has  only  a  short  run,  for 
seventeen  or  eighteen  is  the  age  limit. 

The  Shah  has  similarly  a  troupe  of  dancing  boys  who 
pass  through  the  enderoun  to  the  biroun,  and  they  may 
be  seen  on  the  official  occasions  where  their  presence  is 
ordered,  for  instance  at  races.     They  look  so  much  like 


IGG      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

their  feminine  colleagues,  since  they  wear  the  same 
coiffure  and  the  same  costume,  that  they  could  easily  be 
mistaken. 

The  troupe  includes  a  buffoon  of  one  or  the  other 
sex,  whose  business  it  is  to  parody  the  mimicry  of  the 
dancers.  Sometimes  he  disguises  himself  as  Sultan  of 
Roum  —  that  is,  Turkey  —  by  painting  a  face  on  his 
stomach,  concealing  the  upper  part  of  his  body  in  an 
enormous  turban,  and  adding  false  arms.  To  give 
different  expressions  to  the  face,  he  stretches  or  contracts 
the  skin  of  his  stomach  with  his  hands.  The  delusion 
is  so  perfect  that  one  does  not  realise  at  first  how  it  is 
effected. 

The  wives  of  the  Shah  receive  many  visits. 

The  Favourites,  who  each  have  a  separate  establish- 
ment in  their  own  part  of  the  enderoun,  hold  regular 
levdes,  to  which  crowd  the  wives  of  the  men  who  are 
thronging  the  Court  of  the  Shah,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
wall,  in  the  biroun.  They  have  also  their  At  Homes,  to 
which  on  some  rare  occasions  they  invite  the  European 
women  of  distinction  residing  in  Teheran.  The  Shah  in 
this  case  comes  to  the  party  and  distributes  to  the  Western 
guests  costly  souvenirs.  At  other  times  they  go  and  pay 
calls  on  princesses  or  wives  of  grandees,  where  they 
remain  for  dinner  and  the  evening.  The  hostess  displays 
for  the  occasion  the  greatest  luxury  in  decorations  and 
delicacies. 

When  they  go  out,  not  only  are  they  muffled  up  like 
other  women,  but  the  carriages  in  which  they  drive — 


THE  SHAH'S  HAREM  167 

huge  closed  landaus  upholstered  in  canary-coloured  silk 
— are  surrounded  by  eunuchs  on  horseback.  In  front 
gallop  jelowdars — outriders  in  scarlet  laced  with  gold, 
holding  silver  maces,  who  shout,  "  Be  blind ! "  Armed 
with  whips,  the  eunuchs  force  the  bystanders  to  fly  into 
the  side  streets,  or  to  stand  with  their  faces  to  the  wall  or 
against  a  tree,  or  to  lie  with  their  faces  to  the  ground, 
in  order  not  to  profane  with  their  gaze  the  phantom 
silhouettes  of  the  Royal  wives.  Behind  the  carriage  ride 
men-servants,  some  carrying  the  silver  samovars  and 
kalyans,  and  all  the  articles  needed  for  tea,  wrapped 
up  in  precious  cashmere  shawls ;  others  holding  in 
front  of  them  the  pet  animals — gazelles  or  guepards. 
Then  comes  the  military  escort,  composed  of  Kurdish 
irregulars,  wild  and  ferocious-looking  in  their  picturesque 
national  dress. 

The  populace  does  not  object  to  this  treatment.  It 
is,  after  all,  flattered  every  time  it  is  reminded  of  the 
splendour  and  state  which  surrounds  everything  con- 
nected with  its  magnificent  sovereign. 

One  might  almost  classify  among  amusements  the 
pilgrimages  of  Imperial  wives.  They  would  enjoy  mak- 
ing them  oftener,  for  the  novelty  introduced  into  the 
monotony  of  their  lives  no  less  than  for  the  favours  they 
have  to  ask  of  the  saints.  But  they  very  rarely  give 
themselves  the  satisfaction,  for  it  is  not  prudent  for  them 
to  go  far  from  the  "  Centre  of  the  Universe " — their 
master.  Their  rivals  would  take  advantage  of  their 
absence    to  work  against  them,   so  they  must  content 


168      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

themselves  with  pilgrimages  in  the  vicinity — the  mosque- 
tomb  of  Shah-Abdoul-Azim,  where  Nasr-ed-din  was 
assassinated,  which  is  only  a  few  miles  from  Teheran,  is 
one  of  their  favourite  shrines. 

Only  the  veterans  can  allow  themselves  the  long 
absence  of  a  distant  pilgrimage ;  Koum  or  Meshed  are 
therefore  chosen.  Koum  is  the  true  feminine  pilgrim- 
age, for  there  is  the  tomb  of  the  thrice  holy  Fatima- 
el-Masuma,  the  Immaculate,  sister  of  Imam  Reza,  Pro- 
tector of  Persia,  whose  tomb  is  in  Meshed.  The  legend 
says  that  he  comes  every  Friday  to  see  his  sister  in 
Koum, 

This  Meshed,  the  principal  town  of  the  N.E.  province 
of  Khorassan,  is  not  to  be  confused  with  Meshed-Houssein, 
or  Kerbela,  which  is  for  the  Persians,  and  all  the  Shiites, 
very  holy  and  a  pilgrimage  place.  It  was  there  that 
Imam  Houssein  met  his  martyrdom  on  the  loth  of 
Moharrem  in  the  year  6i  of  the  Hegira  (i.e.  October 
680  A.D.)  It  is  on  Turkish  territory,  about  fifty  miles  to 
the  south-west  of  Baghdad,  and  not  far  from  the  ruins 
of  Babylon,  and  near  the  right  bank  of  the  Euphrates. 
There  are  to  be  found  the  tomb  of  Houssein  and  the 
mosque  of  Hassan.  At  Kerbela,  as  well  as  at  the 
neighbouring  shrine  of  Nejef  or  Meshed-Ali,  the  faithful 
who  live  there  are  secure  from  going  to  hell.  Many 
Shiites,  amongst  them  the  late  Shah,  leave  it  in  their 
wills  that  they  should  be  buried  there.  Corpses  are  con- 
sequently brought  there  from  Persia  and  all  the  Shiite 
world — even    from    Bombay.      Kerbela    has    therefore 


The  famous  pilgrimage  shrine  ol  Meshed. 


THE  SHAH'S  HAREM  169 

become  a  vast  Necropolis  of  the  Faithful  with  a  very 
bad  name  for  salubrity. 

Owing  to  the  insanitary  condition  of  the  corpses 
brought,  all  sorts  of  epidemics  are  apt  to  arise  there, 
chief  among  them  the  dreaded  plague. 

The  cemetery  is  in  the  centre  of  the  town.  Even 
the  houses  are  used  as  tombs,  and  the  earth  which 
is  dug  up  is  sold  in  little  cakes  to  the  pilgrims  for  them 
to  place  on  the  ground  and  rest  their  heads  against 
whilst  praying  after  their  return.  The  principal  industry 
of  the  inhabitants  is  the  interring  of  the  corpses  brought 
to  rest  in  the  holy  earth. 

Meshed  entails  a  very  long  journey  from  Teheran, 
and  the  Shah  sometimes  takes  some  of  his  wives  with 
him  on  this  pilgrimage.  When  he  does,  he  has  to  take 
with  him  an  immense  train  of  baggage  animals. 

If  Mohammed  Ali — that  is  the  name  of  the  new 
Shah — had  the  wealth  of  Haroun-ar-Rashid,  his 
wives  would  imitate  Zobeida,  who,  when  she  went  to 
Mecca,  had  miles  of  carpets  spread  on  the  way  in 
order  that  the  white  dromedary  on  which  she  rode 
should  not  soil  his  feet  with  the  dust  of  the  road. 
Long  files  of  camels  bore  presents  destined  for  the 
shrine,  and  files  still  longer  bore  precious  coffers  con- 
taining the  thousand  and  one  robes  of  that  princess 
of  the  **  Thousand  and  One  Nights." 

The  actual  state  of  the  Persian  finances  is  far  from 
admitting  of  such  sumptuousness — even  in  a  dream. 
However,   the  suite  and  the  escort  who  accompany  a 


170      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

Persian  princess  on  these  occasions  are  comparable  to 
that  of  Queen  Elizabeth  on  her  visit  to  Kenilworth. 

The  enderoun  removes  with  the  Shah. 

Muzaffer-ed-din,  less  nomad  than  his  father,  who 
spent  months  in  hunting  and  shooting  in  the  forest 
provinces  of  the  north,  did  not  leave  home  except  to 
go  to  his  summer  palaces,  gardens,  or  hunting  pavilions 
situated  in  the  proximity  of  Teheran.  You  did  not 
meet  any  more  those  interminable  strings  of  old  chaises, 
Takkteravan,  and  horses  ridden  by  women  sitting  astride. 
You  did  not  find  two  or  three  hundred  women  following 
His  Majesty  as  in  the  old  days ;  he  took  but  few  wives, 
though  they  had  a  numerous  suite  of  servants  and 
slaves. 

When  he  went  to  Europe  they  used  to  accompany 
him  to  the  frontier. 

The  Shah's  enderouns  are  not  confined  to  Teheran. 
Among  the  most  notable  of  those  in  the  country  is 
Niavaran,  newly  built,  which  is  provided  with  modern 
conveniences  mixed  with  the  more  picturesque  discomfort 
of  the  good  old  times,  and  lit  with  electric  light. 

One  of  the  best  enderouns  is  that  of  Sahab-Kranieh. 
Here  there  are  a  couple  of  score  of  little  dwellings  of 
three  or  four  rooms  apiece,  each  with  a  verandah  in 
front,  scattered  over  a  splendid  park  with  centenarian 
planes. 

That  of  Echretabad  is  more  curious.  It  consists 
of  very  small,  low  houses  exactly  alike,  three  or  four 
feet  apart,  built  round  a  circular  lake  and  surrounded 


THE  SHAH'S  HAREM  171 

by  a  ring  of  poplar  trees.  It  has  the  severe  and 
mysterious  aspect  of  a  cloister,  dwarfed  by  a  huge 
tower  of  three  storeys  glittering  with  the  reflection  of 
multi-coloured  tiles — the  Kkabgah  or  Palace  of  Sleep 
of  the  "Asylum  of  the  Universe." 

Such  are  the  establishments  of  the  harem  of  the 
Shah-in-Shah.  The  light  of  the  Occident  has  hardly 
penetrated  its  veils.  Here  we  have  in  this  twentieth 
century  the  enchantments  of  Schehrezade  continued  in 
a  framework  of  luxury,  charm,  and  mystery ;  but 
dwelling  therein  is  a  new  sovereign,  who  has  proscribed 
the  red  intoxication  of  blood. 


CHAPTER   XVIII 


THE    SHAH    IN    HIS    PALACE 


In  the  Meidan  -  i -  Toupkkaneh,  the  great  square  of 
Teheran,  at  the  first  glimmer  of  dawn,  horsemen,  hold- 
ing long  staves  with  silver  handles,  were  making  a 
way  through  the  crowd  for  the  Royal  cortege  coming 
back  from  one  of  the  Shah's  hunting  pavilions. 

First  came  the  ferraskes,  carrying  whips,  and  the 
Skaters,  or  runners,  in  velvet  helmets  plumed  with 
peacocks'  feathers ;  then  came  the  Nasakdji  Baski,  or 
chief  executioner,  dressed  in  blood-red,  and  the  fellekeh 
of  the  bastinadoes,  drawn  by  richly  caparisoned  mules. 
All  this  medley  of  gay  colours,  all  this  pomp  of 
functionaries  and  soldiers,  was  surrounding  a  chariot 
too  strange  for  the  magnificent  sovereigns  of  Iran 
even  to  have  dreamt  of  it — the  motor  car  of  Muzaffer- 
ed-din  Shah,  of  the  Kadjar  tribe. 

That  strange  retinue,  in  which  the  antique  and  the 
barbaric  was  the  prelude  to  that  ultra-modern  note, 
disappeared  into  the  palace,  or  rather  conglomeration  of 
palaces  called  the  Ark,  a  kind  of  royal  city  surrounded 
by  walls,  which  formerly  had  the  additional  protection  of 
a  moat. 


172 


THE  SHAH  IN  HIS  PALACE  173 

The  palace  so  called  constitutes  a  part  of  the  Ark. 
Like  every  Persian  house,  it  is  divided  in  two  parts  : 
the  biroun,  or  men's  dwelling ;  and  the  enderoun,  or 
harem. 

The  Royal  biroun  consists  of  a  mass  of  hetero- 
geneous buildings  surrounding  the  Gulistan,  or  rose 
garden,  a  perfumed  oasis  where  huge  fountains  spread 
sheets  of  rippling  coolness ;  where  clear  streams  in 
channels  of  pale  turquoise  blue  tiles  glide  between 
green  lawns  gay  with  peacocks,  swans,  and  doves ; 
where,  behind  masses  of  rare  plants  and  flowers,  rise 
groves  of  dark  cypresses,  pines,  planes,  and  willows. 

On  the  east  side  of  the  Gtilistan  stands  the  Skems- 
el-Emaret,  or  Sun  of  the  Palaces,  with  its  two  square 
many-storeyed  towers  covered  by  blue  tiles  with  yellow 
arabesques.  From  these  towers,  in  which  they  are 
concealed  behind  majolica  mousharabiehs,  the  women 
of  the  harem,  always  very  inquisitive  persons,  watch 
the  cominofs  and  g^oings  of  the  Gulistan  and  the  crowded 
and  animated  entrance  to  the  bazars.  At  the  foot 
of  the  towers,  in  an  open  gallery,  are  the  Gobelins 
tapestry  representing  the  Coronation  of  the  Faun  and 
the  Triumph  of  Venus,  given  by  King  Louis-Phillipe 
to  Mohammed  Shah. 

In  the  north  part  of  the  Museum,  a  huge  chamber 
of  unimaginable  richness,  the  ground  is  covered  with 
the  rarest  carpets,  masterpieces  of  the  ancient  Persian 
art.  There  too  is  to  be  found  the  celebrated  Peacock 
Throne,  taken  from  the   Grand   Mogul  in  the  days  of 


174       QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

yore  by  the  victorious  Nadir  Shah.  This  throne  is 
a  dazzling  marvel ;  it  is  covered  with  sheets  of  gold 
on  which  precious  enamels,  fantastic  birds,  and  chimeras 
set  with  rubies,  emeralds,  sapphires,  and  turquoises 
shine,  culminating  in  the  supreme  radiation  of  a 
diamond  sun.  It  is  said  to  be  worth  six  million 
pounds. 

A  few  chairs  and  tables  of  the  same  precious 
materials — gold,  enamels,  and  precious  stones — are  still 
to  be  seen,  but  the  greatest  part  of  them  have  un- 
happily been  sent  to  the  Mint.  It  is  in  this  room 
that  the  Shah  holds  his  diplomatic  receptions. 

Then  comes  the  Room  of  Diamonds,  Otag-i-Almas, 
which  has  its  walls  entirely  covered  with  mirrors  and 
looking-glass  cut  and  set  in  the  shape  of  diamonds 
rising  in  stalagmites,  and  falling  again  from  the  ceiling 
in  scintillating  stalactites. 

In  the  Library,  which  comes  next,  in  fragrant  cedar 
cupboards,  are  to  be  found  by  the  thousand  precious 
ancient  manuscripts  adorned  with  invaluable  miniatures. 

One  of  the  other  rooms  is  called  the  Otag-i-Adjah, 
or  the  Room  of  Hunger,  to  characterise  the  "avidity" 
with  which  this  room  fills  itself  with  treasures. 

At  the  end  of  the  Palace  is  the  Orangery,  and  close 
to  it  the  Porte  des  Voluptds,  which  can  only  be  crossed 
by  the  Shah  and  the  eunuchs,  for  it  leads  to  the  sacred 
harem. 

On  the  south  is  the  Emaret-i-Badghir,  or  Palace  of 
the  Ventilators,  whose  square  turrets  contain  the  engines 


■a 

V 

u 


73 
41 


.5 

4> 


<0 


V 


c 
'5 


u 

1 


<3 

o 


.8 


:22i;i 


THE  SHAH  IN  HIS  PALACE  175 

which  generate  the  air  and  distribute  it  to  the  interior. 
Round  it  are  several  buildings  containing  aviaries  full 
of  singing  birds  and  cages  with  golden  bars  full  of  rare 
animals. 

At  the  west  stands  a  little  palace  in  the  Louis  xvi. 
style,  of  which  the  Shah  is  particularly  fond.  It  contains 
his  private  apartments ;  his  picture  gallery  flashing  with 
the  splendour  of  a  marvellous  collection  of  old  arms ; 
and  a  drawing-room  whose  rich  furniture  was  presented 
by  the  Sultan  of  Turkey.  In  this  drawing-room, 
standing  upon  a  table  and  protected  by  a  glass  shade,  is 
the  famous  terrestrial  globe  in  a  solid  gold  frame  en- 
crusted with  diamonds.  The  geographical  divisions  of 
the  sphere  are  marked  by  precious  stones  of  various 
colours :  Persia  by  turquoises,  the  national  stone ;  the 
town  of  Teheran  by  a  big  diamond  taken  from  the 
corpse  of  Ashraf,  King  of  Afghanistan ;  and  Mound 
Demavend  by  a  ruby  extracted  from  Shah-Rouck  by 
Agha  Mohammed  Shah's  torturers;  the  seas  are  made 
of  emeralds;  India  of  amethysts;  Africa  of  rubies; 
England  and  France  of  diamonds ;  and  so  on.  This 
work  cost  one  million  tomans,  or  ;^200,ooo. 

Leaving  the  Shah's  apartments,  one  crosses  a  gallery 
leading  to  a  circular  court  surrounded  by  the  Vezaret- 
Omour-Kharedjeh,  or  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs,  with 
a  succession  of  windows  in  wood,  curiously  carved.  A 
grill  of  delicate  work  divides  it  from  a  great  garden 
shaded  by  plane  trees. 

In   the  centre  of  this  garden  is  a  long  basin  with 


176      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

playing  fountains.  The  palace  fronting  it  has  a  huge 
recess  in  its  fa9ade.  This  is  the  Talar,  or  Throne  Hall ; 
it  is  entirely  open  except  for  two  alabaster  columns 
supporting  the  entablature.  These  were  brought  from 
Persepolis  in  some  miraculous  way ;  for  there  is  no  road, 
and  their  size  is  enormous  :  they  are  spiral  and  very 
lofty.  The  Talar  is  adorned  with  the  portraits  of  the 
earlier  Shahs  of  the  dynasty ;  its  walls  are  encrusted 
with  facets  of  mirrors  cut  like  diamonds.  At  the  bottom 
of  the  chamber  is  a  dark  arcade  dimly  lit  with  stained 
glass  panes  whose  coloured  lights  are  reflected  in  a 
fountain.  In  front  of  the  Talar  is  the  throne — a  plat- 
form of  transparent  white  marble  about  eight  feet  by  five 
— carved  and  gilt.  It  is  supported  in  the  middle  by 
short  columns  resting  on  the  backs  of  lions,  and  at 
each  side  by  djinns  or  divs  in  feminine  costume.  The 
marble  back,  which  is  carried  round  the  sides  in  a  sort 
of  balustrade,  is  of  tracery  as  delicate  as  lace.  It  is 
called  Takht-i-Marmar — Marble  Throne. 

In  front  of  the  Talar  round  the  fountain  that 
morning  (it  was  the  New  Year,  or  No-Rojiz)  dignitaries 
came  and  went,  with  their  kolahs,  turbaned  in  white 
shawls  with  designs  of  red  and  green  running  through 
them.  They  were  dressed  in  simple  tunics  flowing 
down  to  their  feet,  made  of  the  finest  cashmere  glitter- 
ing with  diamond  breast-clasps. 

Suddenly  on  this  crowd,  motley,  moving,  jabbering, 
fell  a  respectful  silence.  Heads  bowed,  attitudes  became 
humble    and    suppliant.       The    King-of-Kings   entered. 


c 


THE  SHAH  IN  HIS  PALACE  177 

He  slowly  crossed  the  gardens,  ascended  the  steps  of 
the  throne,  upon  which  he  seated  himself  in  the  Oriental 
way,  on  a  carpet  of  pearls  and  pearl  -  embroidered 
cushions.  His  black,  full-skirted  frock-coat,  buttoned  to 
the  throat,  was  lost  in  the  blaze  of  precious  stones.  The 
diamond  aigrette,  the  emblem  of  power,  spread  a  fan 
of  fire  over  a  melancholy  and  gentle  visage.  With  a 
rhythmic,  unconscious  gesture,  he  caressed  his  moustache 
and  gazed  round  with  tired,  mysterious,  distant  eyes, 
which  looked,  but  did  not  see,  whilst  his  favourite  poet 
recited,  accentuating  and  hammering  out  each  syllable, 
the  glories  of  the  tribe  of  Kajar.  Every  time  the 
sublime  name  of  Mouzaffer-ed-din  was  pronounced,  the 
crowd  bowed. 

In  front  of  the  Shah  were  ranged  up  amongst  the 
dignitaries  of  State  such  of  the  tribesmen  of  Kajar  as 
were  in  Teheran. 

The  members  of  the  Ministry  of  Ceremonies,  at  the 
head  of  whom  was  the  Minister,  with  his  long  gold 
mace  glowing  with  emeralds  and  encrusted  with  other 
precious  stones,  advanced  four  steps  and  bowed,  then 
took  four  steps  back  and  bowed,  while  the  poetry  was 
going  on. 

From  the  lips  of  the  Shah  a  few  words  fell,  always 
benevolent,  such  as :  '•  The  weather  is  favourable  to 
the  crops.  A  little  rain  would  perhaps  be  useful.  The 
fulness  of  the  harvest  makes  the  happiness  of  the 
people.  Functionaries  must  make  the  law  respected, 
and  set   the  example  of  disinterestedness,  impartiality, 

12 


178       QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

and  equity.  Justice  is  the  basis  of  society  and  the  pillar 
of  the  Empire.  Let  us  thank  the  Prophet  and  Ali  for 
the  blessings  that  they  pour  with  bountiful  hands  upon 
Iran.  Let  us  pray  them  to  continue  these  blessings  in 
the  future." 

Then  all  the  people  present  cried  "  Glory  to  God,  to 
the  Prophet,  to  Ali !  Glory,  Grace,  and  Happiness  to  the 
King-of-Kings ! " 

Then  His  Majesty  was  presented  with  a  cup  of 
coffee  and  a  gold  kalyan  coruscating  with  gems — a 
kalyan  without  fire  in  which  enormous  rubies  took  the 
place  of  embers. 

Meanwhile  the  troops  filed  past  with  a  brutal  thunder- 
clap of  clashing  military  bands. 


CHAPTER   XIX 

COURT    RECEPTIONS    OF    THE    DIPLOMATIC    BODY 

Servants  dressed  in  the  red  Persian  liveries  laced  with 
faded  gold,  carrying  long  silver  maces,  are  sent  to  the 
various  Legations  to  escort  the  diplomats  to  the  Court. 
They  walk  on  each  side  of  the  carriages :  the  carriages 
are  thus  obliged  to  proceed  at  a  walking  pace.  When 
they  reach  the  gate  of  the  palace,  drums  and  trumpets 
crash  out  a  salute,  and  the  diplomats  cross  the  gardens 
and  enter  a  sort  of  waiting-room  to  attend  the  Shah's 
pleasure.  It  is  an  appointment,  but  the  Shah  never 
observes  it,  because  it  is  necessary  to  his  importance 
to  keep  people  waiting.  The  Master  of  Ceremonies, 
dressed  in  a  long  cashmere  robe  with  puffed  sleeves, 
adorned  with  large  oval  clasps  embossed  with  precious 
stones  and  hanging  chains  of  pearls,  comes  to  say  that 
His  Majesty  is  ready  to  receive,  and,  accompanied  by 
the  members  of  the  Ministry  of  the  Ceremonies,  escorts 
the  members  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps  to  the  Hall  of 
Reception.  This  is  the  hall  called  the  Museum  in  the 
previous  chapter. 

The  Minister  of  each  Legation  walks  in  front,  followed 
by  his  secretaries  in  order.     At  the  right  is  the  Embassy 

179 


180      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

of  Turkey,  then  the  European  Diplomatic  Corps  in  the 
order  of  their  Ministers'  seniority.  They  keep  their 
hats  on  and  also  their  boots,  which  is  an  extraordinary 
thing  in  Persia,  where  everybody  must  dis-boot  in  the 
presence  of  the  Shah.  This  has  been  a  matter  of  much 
diplomatic  discussion,  and  formed  one  of  the  articles 
of  the  Turkmanchay  treaty.  Up  to  that  date  the 
European  diplomats  were  obliged  to  put  red  stockings 
over  their  boots  and  trousers. 

The  Museum  is  a  very  long  room,  and  the  Legations 
stand  at  one  end,  each  in  single  file  behind  its  Minister. 
At  the  other  end,  where  the  Peacock  Throne  stands, 
the  Master  of  Ceremonies  shouts  an  announcement  in 
a  very  loud  and  pompous  tone ;  and  the  Shah  suddenly 
appears  with  the  Grand  Vizier  and  two  or  three  other 
viziers,  and  remains  standing  in  front  of  the  throne. 
This  has  been  another  subject  of  diplomatic  arrange- 
ment. It  was  settled  that  as  the  diplomats  could  not 
sit  in  the  presence  of  the  Shah,  the  Shah  should  not 
sit  in  their  presence. 

The  diplomats  advance  a  certain  distance  and  make 
a  profound  bow  with  the  hand  at  the  salute ;  then  they 
make  a  second  advance  and  a  second  bow,  and  a  third 
when  they  come  nearer  His  Majesty;  then  they  piiuse. 
The  Master  of  Ceremonies  introduces  them  to  the 
Shah  one  after  the  other  seriatim,  and  they  bow  to 
His  Majesty  haloed  by  the  rays  of  the  Peacock's 
Throne. 

This  throne  has  been  the  subject  of  several  attempted 


RECEPTIONS  OF  DIPLOMATIC  BODY     181 

robberies.  It  is  said  that  there  was  once  a  parrot  on 
the  top  of  it  made  of  a  single  emerald,  which  has  been 
stolen.  Lately,  when  the  Shah  came  back  from  his 
travels  in  Europe,  he  noticed  some  scraps  of  gold  on 
the  carpet,  which  led  him  to  the  discovery  that  some 
stones  had  been  stolen  from  it.  He  was  furious,  and 
when,  a  few  days  afterwards,  the  culprit  was  discovered 
in  the  person  of  a  young  boy  of  fourteen  who  had  lately 
been  engaged  to  sweep  the  palace,  he  was  put  to  the 
torture  to  make  him  disclose  where  he  had  concealed 
the  stones.  He  at  once  declared  that  he  had  buried 
them  at  the  foot  of  a  tree  in  the  Rose  Garden.  The 
Shah  ordered  him  to  be  executed  instantly,  and  his 
body  remained  exposed  for  a  few  days  at  the  gate  of 
city,  close  to  the  execution  ground. 

The  Shah  dresses  in  a  black  Persian  frock-coat  with 
gathered  skirts,  which  is  thickly  studded  with  diamonds ; 
he  has  diamond  epaulettes,  and  a  scimitar  with  a  diamond 
scabbard ;  and  on  the  tall  lambskin  cap  called  the  kolah 
there  is  an  aigrette  or  jika  with  an  enormous  oblong 
diamond,  weighing  one  hundred  and  eighty-six  carats, 
called  the  Daria-i-Noor — the  Sea  of  Light.  The  effect 
of  it  is  spoiled  by  bad  cutting.  His  dress  varies  with  the 
importance  of  the  occasion.  The  diamond  costume  is 
reserved  for  the  most  important ;  the  pearl  costume  is 
frogged  with  ropes  of  pearl :  a  great  English  jeweller 
expressed  on  one  occasion  his  willingness  to  buy  the 
Shah  as  he  stood  in  this  dress  for  four  millions.  There 
are  also  ruby,  turquoise,  and  emerald  costumes,  but  the 


182      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

base  is  always  the  black  frock-coat :  it  is  the  epaulettes, 
buttons,  and  so  on  that  are  varied. 

Muzaffer-ed-din  Shah  was  nervous  in  the  presence 
of  Europeans ;  he  used  to  stand  with  one  hand  on  his 
scimitar  and  stroke  his  enormous  moustache  with  the 
other  in  order  to  maintain  his  composure.  As  has  been 
said,  he  used  to  utter  some  platitudes  such  as  :  "  Thank 
God  we  have  had  a  fortunate  year.  Rain  has  been 
plentiful,  and  we  hope  that  God  will  make  the  harvest 
abundant."  If  he  was  in  a  genial  mood  he  inquired  after 
the  respective  sovereigns.  "What  are  they  all  doing? 
Has  the  King  of  England  won  the  yachting  race?  Has 
the  Kaiser  killed  many  deer?  Was  the  Sultan  of 
Turkey  pleased  with  the  two  girls  I  sent  him  lately  ? 
How  is  the  Czar?"  To  which  the  Russian  Minister 
replies  with  forced  politeness,  "  How  can  he  be  anything 
else  but  well  since  he  is  noticed  by  your  Majesty  ?  " 

He  addressed  a  few  words  like  that  to  each  Minister, 
and  then  said,  "You  are  dismissed."  All  the  diplomats 
backed  out  bowing  three  times  as  at  their  entry,  a 
perilous  performance  in  a  Persian  room  full  of  little 
carpets.  More  than  one  old  diplomat  has  measured  his 
length  on  these  little  carpets. 

Of  course  on  these  occasions  the  Shah  was  crippled 
by  the  fear  of  causing  jealousy  ;  he  was  more  practical 
when  he  received  a  single  ambassador.  He  always 
spoke  in  Persian,  which  was  translated  by  the  Foreign 
Office  interpreters  into  French. 

Muzaffer-ed-din   was    a  good    man ;    his    Court    was 


Imperial  Jika,  set  in  the  largest  emerald  in  the  world,  and 
diamond  ornaments. 


[Photo  by  Prince  Abd-Oullah  Mirza. 


RECEPTIONS  OF  DIPLOMATIC  BODY     183 

paved  with  good  intentions  which  he  had  not  sufficient 
energy  to  carry  out.  Unlike  his  ancestors,  he  hated  blood- 
shed, and  while  he  was  on  the  throne  instances  of  capital 
punishment  were  rare.  Though  he  was  a  great  sportsman, 
a  fine  shot  who  could  hit  with  a  rifle  a  coin  thrown  up  in 
the  air,  he  was  as  humane  to  animals  as  he  was  to  human 
beings,  as  was  shown  at  the  sacrifice  of  the  camel. 

On  the  day  of  Kourban  Beiram,  when  every  Mussul- 
man has  to  make  a  sacrifice  in  memory  of  the  Sacrifice 
of  Abraham,  the  Shah  is  supposed  to  immolate  a  camel, 
whilst  his  subjects  content    themselves    with    sheep    or 
fowls.      But  Muzaffer-ed-din  did  not  like  doing  it  him- 
self, and  relinquished  the  Royal  privilege  to  a  man  who 
for  the  occasion  dressed  himself  as  if  he  was  the  Shah — 
a  sort  of  Rex  Sacrificulus.     He  rode  on  horseback  with 
a  suite,  and  the  crowd  made  a  close  escort  for  him  and 
the    camel,    who    walked    with    his   usual    supercilious 
indifference.        The     camel     had     to     be     gorgeously 
caparisoned  :  the  man  who    simulated    the  Shah  had  a 
lance,   and   when    the    procession    arrived    at   a    certain 
point,  the  square  in  front  of  the  Nagaristan  Palace,  he 
drove  the  spear  into  the  throat  of  the  camel,  which  had 
been  despoiled  of  its  ornaments,  and  the  crowd,  rushing 
upon  the  poor  animal,  began  cutting  it  to  pieces  before  it 
was  dead.     A  piece  streaming  with  blood  was  put  on 
the  top  of  a  lance  and  carried  in  triumph  by  the  simulator 
of  the  Shah,  who  went  to  the  palace  to  take  it  to  the 
real  Shah. 

Muzaffer-ed-din    was    very    fond    of    music.       He 


184      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

detested  thunder :  whenever  it  thundered,  he  used  to 
take  refuge  in  a  vault  where  the  noise  was  drowned, 
and  had  a  Mollah,  especially  appointed  for  the  purpose, 
to  calm  his  misgivings. 

He  was  also  very  fond  of  novelties.  He  was  much 
interested,  for  example,  in  photography.  He  instituted 
a  Photographer  of  State,  who  received  ^2000  a  year,  and 
was  expected  to  buy  every  new  patent  that  came  out. 
Muzaffer-ed-din  was  photographed  every  half-hour — if  he 
saw  a  European  with  a  camera  in  the  street  he  used  to  stop 
to  let  him  take  his  photograph.  Every  kind  of  machinery, 
from  the  most  important  inventions  to  penny  toys, 
interested  him.  It  was  characteristic  of  him  to  pay  no 
more  attention  to  Marconi's  discovery  than  to  a  shilling 
automatic  toy. 

Not  long  ago,  among  the  new  things  from  Europe 
were  little  canoes  in  rubber  which  were  blown  out  and 
took  the  shape  of  a  boat,  and  were  designed  to  support 
several  people.  The  Shah  was  very  interested  :  they 
were  tried  on  the  lake  of  the  palace.  Four  fat  nobles 
were  embarked  in  one,  whose  valve  was  partly  opened, 
and  the  boat  was  pushed  from  land. 

It  slowly  sank  till  its  occupants  were  left  floundering 
in  the  water.  The  Shah  enjoyed  himself  vastly, 
especially  when  they  were  brought  out  looking  as 
drenched  as  seals. 

The  poor  men,  though  they  got  rheumatism,  were 
delighted  to  have  made  the  Shah  laugh.  They  received 
pensions  on  the  spot. 


Reception  of  an  Ambassador  by  the  5hah  of  Persia.     From  an  ancient  painting. 


CHAPTER   XX 


THE    TRAVELS    OF   THE    SHAH 


MuzAFFER-ED-DiN  craved  for  the  dissipations  of  European 
capitals  ;  but  the  state  of  his  finances  had  deprived 
him  of  this  solace,  until  the  conclusion  of  the  loan  with 
Russia,  which  so  nearly  jeopardised  Persian  independence, 
gave  him  a  command  of  ready  cash.  The  departure 
of  a  Shah  for  a  long  journey  is  a  terrible  business ; 
everything  is  paralysed. 

The  Shah's  departure  was  fixed  for  the  nth 
of  April,  but  he  postponed  it,  and  he  was  to  leave 
Teheran  on  the  next  day  only  if  he  did  not  change 
his  mind  in  the  interval,  since  there  had  been  an 
earthquake  on  the  day  before,  which,  without  having 
caused  any  fatalities,  had  nevertheless  frightened  His 
Majesty,  who  considered  it  a  bad  omen. 

If  he  had  listened  to  the  astrologers,  he  would  very 
likely  not  have  gone  at  all.  On  the  morning  of  the 
nth,  at  lo  a.m.,  the  Axis  of  the  Universe  received  the 
Diplomatic  Body  in  his  palace  to  make  his  adieux. 

This  audience  was  depressing.  The  Shah  looked 
tired  and  ill ;  the  Grand  Vizier  had  to  help  him  to  make 
a  little  speech  to  the  Foreign  Ministers.     In  this  he  bade 


185 


18G      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

farewell  and  announced  that  he  had  placed  the  regency 
in  the  hands  of  his  son,  Shoa-es-Saltaneh.  In  o^oino-  out 
most  of  the  Ministers  asked  themselves  if  His  Majesty 
would  be  able  to  bear  the  fatigues  of  the  journey. 

The  Grand  Vizier  in  his  visit  of  farewell  to  the 
Leo^ations  did  not  conceal  that  he  was  uncertain  if  his 
august  master  would  be  in  a  condition  to  accomplish  his 
projected  tour  in  the  different  Courts  of  Europe  after 
havinor  finished  his  cure  at  Contrexeville. 

"We  shall  go  certainly,"  said  he,  "to  visit  the 
Paris  Exhibition,  but  for  the  rest — that  will  depend  on 
His  Majesty's  health."  It  is  certain  that  the  life  of  the 
Shah  could  not  stand  a  shock. 

In  spite  of  the  astrologers  and  of  the  bad  omens, 
the  Shah  left  on  the  12th.  Early  in  the  morning 
we  got  on  horseback,  and  as  nobody  knew  at  what 
o'clock  the  Shah  would  leave  the  palace,  we  ran 
through  the  streets  that  he  was  going  to  follow,  in 
order  not  to  miss  him. 

This  was,  however,  full  of  interest.  From  the  palace 
to  the  gate  of  the  town  the  streets  were  crowded  with 
people,  especially  the  dark  phantoms  of  women.  An 
extraordinary  display  of  police  in  the  streets  and  up 
on  the  roofs  of  the  houses  seemed  to  indicate  that 
the  prince  did  not  feel  very  sure  of  the  sentiments  of 
the  people  towards  him.  The  fact  is  that  there  were 
many  malcontents,  and  it  was  not  difficult  to  guess 
why  ;  for  it  was  not  fair  that  in  the  state  of  poverty  to 
which  Persia  has  been  reduced,  its  sovereign  should   go 


THE  TRAVELS  OF  THE  SHAH         187 

to  Europe  to  spend  on  his  personal  pleasures  a  great 
part  of  the  money  borrowed  from  Russia. 

All  along  the  road,  which  was  barren  and  stony, 
lines  had  been  drawn  with  stones,  ranged  with  a  certain 
eye  to  decoration,  in  order  to  facilitate  the  alignment  of 
the  troops,  more  or  less  well-exercised,  who  were  to  pay 
the  honours  to  the  Shah. 

After  havinor  traversed  the  white  road,  through  the 
multi-coloured  and  picturesque  crowd,  and  seen  the  troops 
take  up  their  positions,  I  came  back  with  K.  K.  to  the 
town  to  meet  His  Majesty,  while  the  French  Minister  and 
his  friends  posted  themselves  on  the  rising  ground  near 
the  camp  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  the  Shahin-Shah. 
He  and  they  had  to  wait  a  long  time.  It  was  only  at 
half-past  eleven  that  the  Shah  passed  the  gate  of  the 
town  called  the  Aspdovane  (horse  race),  in  a  heavy 
caleche  drawn  by  eight  horses  with  postilions  at  a 
walking  pace. 

Just  as  the  Shah  eats  always  alone,  it  is  also  only 
alone  that  he  can  drive.  He  suffers  from  the  same 
disabilities  as  the  Pope. 

At  the  door  of  the  carriage  on  the  rieht  side  rode 
the  Grand  Vizier,  Shoa-es-Saltaneh,  and  a  few  other 
grandees.  On  the  left,  the  Sepeh-Salar,  Kajar  Prince, 
Minister  of  War.  The  troops  were  drawn  up  only  on 
this  side  of  the  road.  In  front,  at  the  back,  and  on  the 
right  side  of  the  Imperial  carriage  were  cavalry  in 
brilliant  uniforms,  some  wearing  the  dress  of  our  French 
cuirassiers. 


188      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

As  the  cortege  advanced,  the  soldiers  presented  arms 
and  shouted  hurrahs  without  enthusiasm,  and  the  bands 
played  the  National  Anthem.  None  of  it  seemed  to 
interest  His  Majesty  much  ;  he  was  talking  at  the  time 
to  the  Grand  Vizier  and  Shoa-es-Saltaneh,  with  his 
back  turned  to  the  troops. 

When  he  got  to  the  camp  of  Darecht,  the  Shah  sat 
down  under  a  tent,  richly  furnished  and  draped  with 
precious  stuffs  that  the  Sepeh  Salar  had  put  up  for  the 
purpose  near  a  broad  stream.  There  were  beautiful 
carpets,  a  table  spread  with  fruits  and  sweetmeats,  and 
one  arm-chair — one  only,  for  no  one  can  sit  in  the 
presence  of  the  Shah.  Orange  trees  and  oleanders,  and 
a  thousand  other  pots  of  flowers,  ranged  along  the  bank 
of  the  river,  gave  a  gay  aspect  and  concealed  the  barren- 
ness of  the  landscape. 

With  the  assurance  characteristic  of  Europeans  in 
the  East,  we  passed  the  sentinels,  who  dared  not  say 
anything  to  Franghees  of  our  importance,  and  we  went 
to  the  right  edge  of  the  stream  in  front  of  the  tent. 
His  Majesty  having  noticed  us,  grouped  all  his  suite 
round  him,  and  we  took  a  photograph. 

The  Shah  said  that  if  the  photograph  turned  out 
well,  he  would  like  to  have  one  sent  to  him.  But, 
unfortunately,  on  our  way  back  an  accident  happened 
to  the  plates. 

With  a  very  low  court  bow,  we  retired  backwards 
as  we  were  accustomed  to  do  at  the  palace. 

After  taking  a  few  moments  of  rest,  and  drinking  a 


THE  TRAVELS  OF  THE  SHAH         189 

sherbet,  the  Shah  mounted  his  carriage  and  started  for 
the  encampment  of  Ken.  The  cannon  were  booming 
all  the  time. 

As  soon  as  the  Shah  went  off  surrounded  by  a  strong 
escort,  the  immense  crowd  which  was  going  to  accom- 
pany him  to  the  frontier — soldiers,  courtiers,  and  re- 
tainers, several  thousands  of  them — swarmed  after  him. 
It  is  a  plague  for  the  country  which  is  traversed. 

The  governors  of  towns  offer  large  sums  of  money 
for  the  Shah  to  take  another  route.  The  Shah  accepts 
the  money  and  goes  or  not  as  he  chooses.  Locusts 
could  do  no  more.  His  horses  eat  all  the  crops  in  the 
fields,  and  his  men  steal  everything,  or  openly  take  it 
by  force. 

The  regular  suite  taken  by  the  Shah  numbered  two 
thousand  persons,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  the  Grand 
Vizier  to  reduce  as  much  as  possible  the  Royal  camp. 
The  retinue  of  these  people  and  the  camp  followers 
made  it  up  to  four  or  five  thousand.  In  order  to  furnish 
the  means  of  transport  for  all  these  persons,  it  was 
necessary  to  procure  eight  thousand  baggage  animals, 
which  was  not  the  least  difficult  problem  to  solve. 
This  is  why  the  Shah  was  obliged  to  halt  four  days 
at  the  first  stage,  at  the  village  of  Ken,  to  wait  till 
everything  was  ready.  The  Saheb-Jam,  Minister  of 
Transports,  who  had  charge  of  all  camels,  mules,  and 
donkeys  of  the  Government,  was  Asef-es-Saltaneh,  the 
son-in-law  of  the  Shah.  That  did  not  prevent  his 
receiving   the  bastinado   on   that   occasion,    as  he   was 


190      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

made  responsible,  though  it  was  not  his  fault,  for  that 
delay. 

Outside  the  towns  no  means  of  subsistence  could  be 
obtained.  Everything  had  to  be  taken  with  them — 
the  food  for  the  beast  as  well  as  the  food  for  the 
man.  The  journey  to  Tabriz  cost  several  million 
francs — it  is  said  four  millions — which  could  have  been 
partly  economised  if  it  had  been  possible  to  overcome 
the  Shah's  aversion  to  the  voyage  on  the  Caspian 
Sea,  and  take  the  route  by  Resht  and  Baku.  But  His 
Majesty  had  a  terrible  fear  of  the  sea,  all  the  more 
terrible  because  he  had  never  set  foot  on  board  ship, 
and  very  likely  never  seen  the  sea,  otherwise  than  in 
pictures.  It  had,  therefore,  been  impossible  to  con- 
template the  Caspian  Sea  route,  which  is  at  once  the 
shortest  and  the  least  expensive. 

We  wondered  what  would  His  Majesty  do  when  he 
came  to  go  over  to  England  ? 


^-^^ 


-1_  ■^'  • 


Tomb  of  Bajazet  I.,  Sultan  of  Turkey,  built  by  Shah   Khodabendeh, 

near  Shahroud. 


CHAPTER   XXI 

GOVERNMENT    AND    JUSTICE 

**  The  vice  approved  by  the  king  becomes  a  virtue  :  to 
seek  counsel  opposed  to  him  is  to  imbrue  one's  hands 
in  one's  own  blood," — Sadi. 

Theoretically,  the  Shah  is  absolute  master  of  the 
kingdom,  and  may  do  what  he  chooses.  He  nominates 
at  his  pleasure  the  ministers,  governors,  functionaries  ; 
and  takes  their  offices  away  from  them,  and  can  just 
as  easily  confiscate  their  goods. 

Theoretically,  also,  all  his  subjects  are  his  slaves. 
He  has  the  power  of  life  or  death  over  them. 

Theoretically,  all  the  land  belongs  to  him,  with  the 
exception  of  the  religious  demesnes. 

I  say  theoretically,  for  practice  introduces  certain 
modifications.  For  example,  a  prince,  a  minister,  a 
governor,  the  head  of  a  tribe,  etc.,  may  acquire  enough 
power  to  defy  the  Shah — not  to  mention  the  eternal 
subject  of  the  power  of  the  Church. 

For  example,  under  Nasr-er-din  Shah,  one  of  his 
own  sons,  Zil-es-Sultan,  who  is  still  Governor  of 
Ispahan,  established  an  independent  principality  in  the 
south    of    Persia.      He    had    an    army    more    powerful 

191 


192      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

than  that  of  his  father;  the  soldiers  were  better 
equipped,  were  drilled  by  officers,  natives  of  India, 
trained  in  the  armies  of  England.  He  had  good  guns, 
and  governed  with  a  strong  hand. 

After  the  visit  to  Ispahan  of  one  of  the  Foreign 
Ministers,  everything  was  changed.  For  that  Minister 
reported  to  the  Shah  what  he  had  seen,  and  His 
Majesty  was  frightened.  It  was  no  use  confronting 
him  with  his  army,  so  he  resorted  to  persuasion.  He 
invited  his  son  to  visit  him  at  Teheran.  But  it  was 
a  long  time  before  he  could  persuade  him  to  accept  the 
invitation,  the  suspicions  of  Zil-es-Sultan  being  aroused 
by  this  sudden  ebullition  of  paternal  sentiment. 

But  at  last   he    had  to  come.     As  soon  as  he  was 
in    Teheran,    he   understood    that    his   suspicions   were 
well  founded,  for  he  was   more    like   a   hostage    in    his 
palace  than   a   son    paying  a  visit    to    his   father.     He 
was  well  guarded   to  prevent  any  attempt  at  flight  to 
the   seat   of    his    power,    and    during   his    stay    in    the 
capital,   which  was  of   long  duration,  all    his  army  was 
disorganised    and    distributed    over    the    most    distant 
provinces :    his   guns   were   brought   to  Teheran.     And 
when   all    the    necessary    precautions   had   been    taken, 
the   Shah    presented    him    with    a   kkalat,    or   robe   of 
honour,  and  allowed  him  to  return  to  his  Government. 
He  remained  Governor  of  Ispahan  during  the  whole 
of  the   reign  of  his   brother,   Muzaffer-ed-din,  and    the 
new  Shah,  Mohammed  Ali,  has  confirmed  him  in  that 
position. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  JUSTICE  193 

He  consoles  himself  for  the  loss  of  his  ambitions 
by  making  a  collection  of  hats.  Every  European 
traveller  who  passes  through  Ispahan  is  shown  that 
collection,  and  if  the  traveller  is  wearing  a  hat  of  a 
shape  which  is  not  represented  in  the  collection,  the 
prince  asks  for  it,  and  makes  a  nice  present  in  return. 
With  his  harmless  lunacy  he  combines  Oriental 
severities.  As  I  write  these  words,  the  population  of 
Ispahan  is  in  revolt  against  his  heavy  hand.  A 
thousand  of  them  are  refugees  in  the  gardens  of  the 
British  Consulate,  as  there  were  ten  thousand  in  the 
gardens  of  the  British  Legation  at  Teheran  a  few 
months  ago.  One  has  to  consider  contingencies  in 
taking  a  house  in  Persia. 

The  example  of  Amin-es-Sultan,  the  greatest  states- 
man of  modern  Persia,  who,  after  three  years'  exile  in 
Europe,  has  just  been  recalled  by  the  new  Shah  to 
take  over  the  reins  of  government,  is  a  proof  of  how 
a  Minister  also  may  modify  the  absolute  power  of  the 
Shah. 

Amin-es-Sultan  had  rendered  himself  so  indis- 
pensable, and  had  such  a  powerful  backing  (he  had 
placed  all  the  chief  offices  of  the  Government  in  the 
hands  of  his  creatures),  that  for  a  time  he  was  the 
virtual  sovereign  of  Persia. 

Such    an    example    may  also    be    found   among   the 

governors    of   the    provinces.      These   governors    recall 

in    many   ways   the   satraps    of    ancient    Persia.      The 

Shah  nominates  them,  generally  according  to  the  sum 

13 


194       QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

of  money  they  can  offer  him  for  the  post.  When  he 
is  in  want  of  money,  he  does  not  hesitate  to  accept 
the  sum  offered  him  by  the  first  comer,  in  exchange 
for  a  nomination  to  the  governorship  of  a  province. 
But  often  the  existing  holder  sends  him  a  greater 
present  or  a  larger  sum  of  money  in  order  to  be 
retained  in  his  position.     The  Shah  keeps  both. 

However,  sometimes  a  governor  succeeds  in  acquiring 
so  strong  a  position  that  the  Shah  sees  himself  obliged 
to  let  him  alone. 

Amir  Nizam  was  an  example  of  this,  and  the  Shah 
had  to  reckon  with  him  a  plus  forte  raison  the  Crown 
Prince.  When  he  was  Governor  of  Azerbeijan,  acting 
for  the  Crown  Prince,  who  held  the  title,  and  was  in 
residence  in  that  province,  he  showed  his  power  by 
defeating  the  wishes  of  the  Shah's  son. 

Amir  Nizam  attached  great  importance  to  getting 
rid  of  a  certain  criminal,  who  merited  exemplary 
chastisement,  and  who  several  times,  at  the  head  of 
a  few  desperadoes  of  his  tribe,  had  caused  grave 
troubles  in  the  savage  and  mountainous  districts  of 
the  Karadagh. 

Mahmoud  Beg  and  his  men  were  notorious  highway- 
men :  they  had  been  pillaging  Christian  villages,  whose 
priest  they  had  assassinated.  The  priest  belonged  to 
an  old  family  well  known  among  the  Christians  of  the 
Azerbeijan,  and  had  left  a  moderate  fortune  to  his 
heirs,  which  gave  them  the  means  of  making  friends  in 
the  entourage  of  the  Amir. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  JUSTICE  195 

They  did  their  work  so  effectively,  spurred  by  the 
idea  of  vengeance  so  characteristic  of  Orientals,  that 
they  obtained  a  sentence  of  death  against  the  culprit. 

In  Persia  justice  is  often  magnanimous  to  the 
Mussulman  who  has  assassinated  a  Christian.  But 
these  murders  were  becoming  too  frequent.  Mahmoud 
Beg  was  too  notorious,  and,  on  the  other  side,  the 
money  of  the  dead  priest,  spread  liberally,  and  perhaps 
other  considerations  also,  determined  the  Governor  of 
Azerbeijan  to  make  an  example.  He  decided,  there- 
fore, that  the  brigand  should  be  fastened  to  the  mouth 
of  a  gun  and  "blown,"  as  the  Persians  say  in  their 
picturesque  way. 

The  sentence  was  presented  to  the  Vali-Ahd  (the 
Crown  Prince),  who  at  that  time  was  courting  popu- 
larity by  playing  the  role  of  the  merciful  and  mag- 
nanimous prince  in  opposition  to  the  sanguinary  and 
inexorable  Amir. 

The  Vali-Ahd  observed  that  though  he  did  not  dis- 
approve of  the  energetic  measures  of  the  governor, 
and  in  spite  of  the  horrible  nature  of  the  crime,  that 
it  would  be  well  to  show  mercy,  for  the  motives  of 
his  crime  might  have  been  more  excusable  than  the 
Amir  had  thought.  A  courtier  present,  who,  like 
the  majority  of  the  entourage  of  the  Vali-Ahd,  hated 
the  Amir  for  his  power  and  the  scant  attention  he 
paid  to  them,  kept  on  saying,  "  And  he  is  a  good 
Mussulman." 

The  Vali-Ahd  insisted  that  it  was  wrong  for  the  blood 


196      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

of  an  infidel  to  be  ransomed  with  the  blood  of  a 
true  believer.  What  would  the  people,  and  above  all 
the  Mollahs,  think  ? 

The  courtiers  raised  a  chorus  of  approval  of  the 
mercifulness  of  their  master. 

Upon  that  the  Amir  made  his  salaam  and  withdrew 
without  offering  a  word,  but  did  not  change  the  order 
to  the  executioner. 

That  day  he  did  not  go  out  of  his  palace,  and  was 
walking  nervously  in  his  garden  with  his  Italian  doctor, 
who  knew  nothing;  of  what  was  Qoinor  on.  He  looked 
at  his  watch  very  often,  when  suddenly  the  report  of 
a  gun  was  heard.  He  breathed  a  sigh  of  relief,  and 
at  the  same  moment  something  fell  beside  them. 
Amir  Nizam  went  and  poked  it  with  his  stick  to  find 
out  what  it  was.  It  was  the  heart,  still  moving,  of 
the    chief  who    had    been    blown    from    the    mouth    of 


a  o^un. 

o 


This  was  common  talk  in  Tabriz,  where  it 
happened. 

This  strong  action  on  the  part  of  Amir  Nizam 
against  the  Crown  Prince's  wishes  so  thunderstruck 
the  latter  that  he  dared  not  say  anything. 

The  chiefs  of  the  tribes  may  also  defy  the  authority 
of  the  Shah  when  they  feel  themselves  strong  enough 
and  are  far  enough  away. 

They  act  in  the  most  practical  way  :  they  refuse  to 
pay  the  taxes  till  the  Shah  sends  troops ;  and  some- 
times they  defeat  these  troops,   and    stripping  them  of 


GOVERNMENT  AND  JUSTICE  197 

their  rifles   and    clothes,  send   them   back   to   the   Shah 
full  of  shame. 

The  Shadow  of  Allah,  the  Sublime  Sovereign  whose 
standard  is  the  Sun,  and  his  Splendour  that  of  the 
Firmament,  is  not  like  the  Sultan  of  Turkey,  the  re- 
ligious chief  of  his  country.  The  power  of  the  clergy 
often  brings  him  to  his  knees. 

But  there  is  one  point  in  which  his  authority  is 
never  disputed — in  the  distribution  of  titles.  He  sells 
them  generally,  but  sometimes  gives  them  in  recompense 
for  services. 

The  title  of  Khan  is  already  ordinary,  and  is  be- 
coming more  and  more  so.  Everybody  who  has  done 
the  Government  any  kind  of  a  service  receives  it,  or 
takes  it  without  it  beino^-  offered. 

That  of  Sultan,  unique  amongst  the  Sunnites,  is 
given,  to  annoy  them,  to  simple  captains  in  Persia. 

Grandees  obtain  titles  for  their  sons  when  they  are 
quite  young ;  the  titles  are  changed  later  according  to 
the  importance  of  the  person. 

Every  rich  Persian  buys  a  title,  even  if  he  is  a 
tradesman ;  for  example,  Malik-i-toujar,  which  means 
Prince  of  the  Merchants. 

Titles  are  not  hereditary  in  Persia,  but  princes  of 
the  Imperial  Family  have  a  title  from  their  birth,  such 
as  Light  of  the  Empire  or  Shadow  of  the  King. 

The  Persians  have  no  standard  titles,  such  as  duke, 
marquis,  earl,  or  count,  viscount,  and  baron.  They 
have  special   titles  created   for  them.     Typical    civilian 


198       QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

titles  are :  Eye  of  the  Kingdom,  Sun  of  the  State, 
Key  of  the  Empire,  Column  of  the  Empire  ;  and 
typical  military  titles  are :  Saviour  of  the  Empire, 
Glory  of  the  State. 

The  Shah,  to  emphasise  his  power,  likes  to  surround 
himself  with  a  number  of  viziers.  There  is  a  vizier  of 
everything,  from  the  Vizier  of  War  to  the  Vizier  of 
Royal  Constructions.  There  is  a  Vizier  of  Finances,  a 
Vizier  of  Foreign  Affairs,  a  Vizier  of  Beasts  of  Burden, 
who  has  under  his  direction  all  the  mules,  asses,  and 
camels  of  the  Government ;  a  Vizier  of  Ceremonies,  a 
Vizier  of  Customs,  who  is  European  ;  a  Councillor  of 
the  Navy,  an  Englishman,  who,  from  Teheran,  is  sup- 
posed to  keep  an  eye  upon  the  single  battleship  yacht 
of  the  Persian  Navy. 

There  is  also  a  Vizier  of  Mines,  although  none  of 
the  Persian  mines  are  exploited  with  the  exception  of 
those  of  turquoises  and  a  small  one  of  coal,  belonging 
to  the  Vizier  of  Public  Instruction. 

The  more  numerous  the  viziers  who  surround  the 
Shah,  the  more  powerful  he  feels  himself  to  be.  But 
in  reality  all  the  strings  of  the  State  are  in  the  hands 
of  the  Grand  Vizier.  He  has  to  control  everything,  from 
the  treaties  with  foreign  powers  to  the  smallest  details 
of  administration.  Everything  is  submitted  to  him,  but 
naturally  little  attracts  his  attention  ;  that  is  why  one  has 
resource  to  bribery  towards  him,  or  to  influences,  even 
that  of  his  harem,  to  attract  his  attention  upon  certain 
things.      In  the  middle  of  a  Council  of  State   he   may 


N 


c 
o 


'3 


GOVERNMENT  AND  JUSTICE  199 

be  disturbed   to  administer  justice   between   two   street 
porters  who  have  been  quarrelling. 

He  is  the  only  one  who  governs.  This  centralisation, 
exceeding  human  strength,  can  be  only  detrimental  to 
the  country  ;  so  much  so,  that  in  order  not  to  lose  his 
position,  he  has  to  keep  an  eye  on  the  Shah,  to  prevent 
plots  against  himself.  He  accompanies  His  Majesty  on 
his  travels,  his  hunting  parties,  etc. 

The  Grand  Vizier  is  the  busiest  man  in  the  kingdom  ; 
it  is  right,  in  return,  that  he  should  be  the  best  paid. 
His  appointments  have,  in  fact,  no  end.  He  receives 
presents  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  has  a  finger 
in  everything,  which  always  comes  out  gilded. 

The  governors  of  the  provinces,  though  nominated 
by  the  Shah,  have  to  deal  with  the  Grand  Vizier — rather 
indirectly,  for  they  are  all-powerful  in  their  provinces. 
They  can  condemn  to  death  and  execute  all  those  who 
are  comprised  in  their  administrations  without  reference 
to  the  central  Government. 

They  send  the  taxes  to  the  Shah  through  the  medium 
of  the  Grand  Vizier,  but  levy  them  as  they  choose  and 
as  often  as  they  choose.  They  may  do  it  three  or  four 
times,  if  not  more,  in  the  year  at  their  pleasure,  or,  more 
strictly  speaking,  according  to  their  power. 

There  are  two  sorts  of  taxes  in  Persia :  the  malliai, 
corresponding  to  our  regular  taxes,  which  comprises  a 
land  tax  of  a  fifth  of  the  produce  ;  a  sort  of  octroi  upon 
merchandise  and  import  and  export  duties ;  and  the 
Sadir,  an  extraordinary  tax  for  special  occasions. 


200      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

Under  the  orovernor — called  in  Persian  Hakem — is  the 
Naib-el-Ho2ikouvia  or  lieutenant-governor.  Then  come 
the  Kalantar  or  mayors  ;  then  the  Kedkhoda  or  chiefs 
of  wards  or  parishes,  if  in  a  town,  or  the  headsman  of 
villages.     The  Daroga  is  the  chief  of  police. 

All  these  functionaries  have  authority  over  taxes, 
offences,  crimes,  under  the  custom-law  called  Ourf. 

Questions  of  property,  inheritance,  marriage,  divorce, 
etc.,  are  decided  by  the  written  law  called  Sha^'a,  based 
upon  the  Koran,  and  the  Sonna  or  tradition.  This  is 
in  the  hands  of  the  Mollahs,  and  presided  over  by  the 
I))iam-Jomeh. 

In  the  villages  the  Khazi  (the  Kadis  of  the  Arabian 
Nights)  are  the  only  enforcers  of  the  written  law. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  the  law  is  very  arbitrary, 
and  that  justice  is  given  in  favour  of  the  most  powerful 
or  the  one  who  will  pay  most. 

There  are  a  thousand  "Chinesities "  in  the  law, 
amongst  them  that  called  dast-guerdan,  an  instance  of 
which  was  given  to  me  by  Mirza  Ali  Akbar. 

When  he  bought  his  garden  for  sixty  tomans,  he 
went  with  the  seller  to  the  Hake7n-Shara — the  doctor  of 
the  law.  There,  as  he  had  not  the  entire  sum  in  ready 
money,  though  it  was  due  to  him  a  little  later,  he  put 
into  the  hand  of  the  seller  the  five  tomans  which  he 
had  brought  with  him  for  that  purpose  ;  then  he  borrowed 
this  very  five  tomans  from  the  seller  and  gave  them 
back  to  him  again  as  the  price  of  the  garden :  he 
borrowed  and  gave  them  eleven  times  running,  saying 


GOVERNMENT  AND  JUSTICE  201 

to  him,  "  I  give  you  this  money  for  the  price  of  the 
land."  To  which  the  seller  answered  eleven  times,  "  I 
lent  you  five  tomans."  In  this  way  the  Mirza  had  given 
sixty  tomans  to  the  seller,  and  had  become  proprietor 
of  the  garden,  and  the  contract  of  sale  was  notified  by 
the  Hakeni-Shara.  At  the  same  time  he  had  contracted 
a  loan  of  fifty-five  tomans,  payable  at  intervals  agreed 
upon,  which  gave  rise  to  a  new  contract  of  quite  a 
different  order.  This  is  only  an  Oriental  form  of 
mortgage. 

Coming  to  the  subject  of  punishments,  the  first  to  be 
described  is  the  bastinado — the  most  ordinary  sentence 
in  Persia.  To  inflict  the  bastinado,  the  following  imple- 
ments are  used :  ( i )  A  fellek,  a  sort  of  pole,  eight 
feet  long,  with  handles  at  each  end  and  a  cord  in  the 
middle,  fastened  in  two  places  about  half  a  yard  apart, 
through  which  the  feet  of  the  victim  are  passed,  when 
it  is  twisted  to  the  requisite  tightness.  (2)  The  choub, 
which  means  wood,  is  a  willow  rod  about  six  feet  long 
and  rather  thicker  than  the  thumb.  They  are  kept 
in  bunches  in  the  tank  of  the  courtyard  to  render 
them  tough  and  supple  so  that  they  may  not  break 
easily. 

The  condemnation  may  either  be  for  so  many 
strokes,  or  till  so  many  choub  are  broken,  which  makes 
all  the  difference,  for  a  choub  generally  lasts  three  or 
four  strokes.  The  sentence  is  seldom  for  less  than  fifty 
choub.  But  for  a  severe  punishment  a  favourite  number 
is  a  thousand  and  one.      In  that  case  death  may  super- 


202      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

vene,  and  in  any  case  the  culprit  is  confined  to  his  bed 
for  several  months. 

After  the  fifty  or  hundred  strokes,  which  is  the 
ordinary  sentence,  the  victim  can  generally  walk  in  two 
or  three  days.  It  does  not  break  any  bones,  but  makes 
the  feet  swell  to  three  or  four  times  their  size,  and  bleed 
profusely. 

This  fellek  and  choiib  are  always  ready,  not  only 
in  the  house  of  each  governor  and  judge,  but  of  every 
important  personage.  Nearly  everybody  has  a  right  to 
inflict  the  bastinado,  and  everybody  has  received  or  will 
receive  it,  from  the  Grand  Vizier  to  the  lowest  camel- 
driver. 

When  two  people  are  condemned  together,  one  foot 
of  each  is  put  into  tho.  fellek. 

When  men  are  condemned,  they  commence  taking 
off  their  shoes  themselves,  lie  on  their  backs  on  the 
ground,  and  hold  up  their  feet  to  be  fastened  in  the 
fellek. 

As  soon  as  the  strokes  descend,  they  scream  for 
mercy — Amanl  Amanl  (mercy).  The  judge  very  often 
stops  the  punishment  to  say,  "Confess  your  crime,  and 
you  will  only  receive  the  proper  punishment ;  but  if  you 
do  not  confess,  you  will  first  be  beaten  till  you  do  confess, 
and  then  receive  the  punishment  that  you  merit."  This 
argument  generally  decides  the  victim  to  confess,  even 
when  he  is  not  guilty. 

Then  the  choubs  begin  to  fall  again  on  the  soles  of 
his    feet,    and    between    his    shouts    he    promises    the 


GOVERNMENT  AND  JUSTICE  203 

ferrashes  (executioners)  so  much  money  if  the  blows 
are  caught  by  the  fellek.  But  they  strike  the  feet  until 
they  extort  the  promise  of  the  sum  they  demand.  Then 
they  strike  on  the  fellek,  and  occasionally  on  the  feet. 
In  order  not  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  judge,  the 
man  shrieks  louder  than  ever. 

Torture  is  also  used  to  extort  the  confession  of 
crimes.  Many  of  the  tortures  cannot  be  described  in 
these  pages.  Roasting  the  feet  over  a  brazier,  the 
favourite  punishment  of  the  Inquisitors  in  Spain,  is  one 
of  the  mildest. 

After  the  bastinado,  the  most  ordinary  punishment  is 
to  cut  off  the  nose  and  the  ears.  If  you  see  a  man  of 
the  lower  class  wearing  a  turban  down  to  the  neck,  you 
may  be  sure  that  he  has  lost  them. 

Thieves  have  a  hand  cut  off,  and  if  they  repeat  the 
offence  they  lose  the  other  hand.  If  the  head  does  not 
fall  at  the  third  offence,  anyhow  a  foot  will  go. 

Capital  punishment  in  Persia  is  generally  inflicted  by 
cutting  the  throat.  Hanging  is  rare.  There  is  an 
engaging  simplicity  about  a  Persian  execution.  It  takes 
place  in  the  public  square.  The  prisoner  is  brought 
with  a  heavy  chain  on  his  neck  and  his  hands.  While 
the  executioner  sharpens  his  curved  knife,  a  pipe  is 
handed  to  the  prisoner,  who  smokes  it  with  Oriental 
fatalism.  When  the  chain  is  taken  off  his  neck,  the 
prisoner  kneels  with  his  back  to  the  executioner,  who 
takes  him  by  the  upturned  chin  and  draws  his  knife 
across  the  taut  throat.      If  the  knife  does  not  cut  well. 


204      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

after  the  first  stroke  the  executioner  leaves  the  person 
half  killed  to  sharpen  it. 

The  body  is  left  lying  on  the  ground.  The  family 
and  friends  come  to  take  it  away,  and  have  to  pay  a  fee 
to  the  executioner,  who  only  pauses  to  take  the  chains 
off  the  body. 

Nobody  pays  much  attention  to  an  execution  in 
Persia,  unless  the  culprit  is  notorious.  It  is  considered 
an  unimportant  thing. 

On  the  day  of  the  execution  the  executioner  goes 
about  the  bazar  and  levies  a  fee  of  one  or  two  pence  on 
the  merchants  for  doing  them  the  service  of  ridding  them 
of  a  dangerous  person. 

The  Persians  have  recourse,  more  or  less,  to  all 
the  punishments  that  human  ingenuity  has  invented. 
They  even  crucify  occasionally,  though  the  victim  is 
nailed  to  a  wall  instead  of  to  a  cross. 

The  condemned,  if  they  are  important,  are  blown  from 
the  mouth  of  guns. 

Another  punishment  is  to  bury  a  person  up  to  his 
neck  in  wet  slime,  which,  when  it  dries,  contracts  and 
gradually  crushes  him,  one  of  the  most  terrible  of  all 
deaths,  worse  than  the  walling  up,  which  was  the 
fate  in  the  Middle  Aoes  of  nuns  unfaithful  to  their 
vows. 

Walling  up  is  used  for  making  examples. 

At  the  gates  of  towns  may  be  seen  pillars  of  brick 
about  the  height  of  a  man,  with  domed  tops.  It  is  in 
these  that  the  victims  are  walled   up.     They  may  be 


GOVERNMENT  AND  JUSTICE  205 

heard  calling  for  water,  though  generally  the  pillars  are 
supposed  to  have  their  hollows  filled  up  with  earth  so 
that  the  victims  cannot  move,  and  die  quickly. 

Punishments  have  to  be  condign  and  exemplary  in 
Persia,  where  instincts  are  very  primitive  and  un- 
restrained. 

The  Persians  are  capable  of  being  very  cruel, 
especially  in  the  uneducated  classes.  They  sometimes 
leave  the  old  women  to  die  unheeded. 

A  Russian  resident  in  Teheran  saw  in  a  street  near 
his  house  a  little  negro  slave  about  fourteen  years  old, 
worn  to  a  skeleton,  lying  in  the  arch  of  an  uninhabited 
house.  He  sent  his  servant  to  inquire  and  give  help  to 
the  poor  little  wretch.  The  servant  came  back  saying 
that  the  case  was  hopeless  ;  that  he  was  the  slave  of  a 
neighbour,  and  was  in  an  advanced  stage  of  consumption, 
so  he  was  being  allowed  to  die  in  peace.  Allah  would 
provide  for  him.  He  then  went  himself,  and  put  some 
silver  in  the  boy's  hand,  and  took  him  some  hot  milk  to 
revive  him.  The  boy  was  too  feeble  to  drink  it,  or  even 
to  express  his  thanks.  The  kindly  Russian  gave  orders 
for  the  boy  to  be  removed  to  a  hospital,  and  promised 
to  pay  the  expenses,  to  the  absolute  astonishment  of  the 
bystanders.  The  boy  was  removed,  but  it  is  to  be 
feared  not  to  the  hospital,  because  no  demand  for  money 
ever  reached  the  generous  foreigner. 

The  Persians  are  naturally  no  kinder  to  beasts,  which 
are  left  to  die  on  the  spot  where  they  break  down.  They 
do  not  even  cut  their  throats,  much  less  waste  a  cartridge 


206      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

on  them  to  shorten  their  sufferings.      I  have  often  come 
across  dying  camels  or  asses  on  the  roads. 

Although  the  Persian  rivals  even  the  Chinese  in  his 
moments  of  cruelty,  it  must  not  be  imagined  that  cruelty 
is  anything  like  so  general  in  the  land  of  Hafiz  and 
Sa'di.  And  the  new  generation  has  a  distinct  inclination 
to  clemency. 

Mirza  Ali  Akbar  did  not  care  to  talk  much  about 
politics,  but  on  a  few  occasions  he  broke  through  his  rule, 
and  the  following  is  the  gist  of  one  of  his  conversations 
on  the  state  of  his  country  : — 

"  It  is  sad  to  see  Persia  falling  into  an  anarchy  which 
will  make  it  sink  into  the  hands  of  the  Russians  and  the 
English. 

"  The  feebleness  and  good-nature  of  the  Shah  form 
one  of  the  principal  causes  of  this  decadence.  He  is 
surrounded  by  courtiers  who  are  for  the  most  part  Turks 
from  Azerbeijan,  who,  thinking  only  of  their  personal 
advantage,  divert  Muzaffer-ed-din  from  his  royal  duties. 

"  After  having  led  him  into  debauchery  to  weaken 
him  and  make  themselves  indispensable,  either  as  a 
doctor,  like  Hakim-ul-Mulk,  or  as  a  buffoon,  like  several 
others,  they  have  given  him  the  habit  of  opium-smoking. 

"  Lately,  at  the  review  of  Cossacks,  did  you  notice 
how  changed  he  looked  ?  He  seemed  thinner  and  older  ; 
his  face  had  shrunk,  and  in  spite  of  the  jewels  covering 
his  uniform,  and  of  his  imperious  air,  he  gave  an 
impression  of  sadness. 


GOVERNMENT  AND  JUSTICE  207 

"  This  year  has  been  disastrous  for  Persia — no  water, 
no  bread,  no  money.  The  wheat  has  been  '  cornered ' 
by  rich  courtiers,  so  powerful  that  the  Shah  does  not 
dare  to  make  them  disgorge.  At  this  time  last  year  its 
price  was  nine  tomans  and  a  half  or  ten  tomans  the 
Khalvar.  This  year  it  costs  eighteen  or  nineteen  tomans 
the  Khalvar.  The  barley,  which  was  sold  ten  years  ago 
at  from  nine  to  eleven  krans  the  Khalvar,  and  had 
mounted  to  five  tomans  the  Khalvar  last  year,  fetches 
to-day  twelve  tomans ;  and  all  these  prices  will  augment 
considerably  during  the  winter. 

* '  Life  is  becoming  very  difficult  in  Teheran.  There  are 
continual  riots  in  the  bazars.  When  the  Shah  went  there 
recently,  he  was  groaned.  Last  week  he  found  under 
his  pillow  the  following  warning  :  *  If  your  Majesty  has 
not  restored  the  affairs  of  the  State  to  the  condition  in 
which  they  were  in  your  father's  reign  before  the  sacred 
month  of  Ramazan,  a  Reza  (the  name  of  the  assassin  of 
Nasr-ed-din)  will  come  to  do  justice  upon  you  in  the 
name  of  the  people  of  Iran.' 

"All  this  indicates  that  the  people  have  reached  the 
limits  of  their  patience.  The  officials  and  the  army, 
whose  salaries  have  not  been  paid  for  the  last  eighteen 
months,  are  exasperated.  The  last  straw  at  which  the 
Shah  can  clutch  would  be  a  foreign  loan,  by  which  the 
finance  could  be  restored  all  round." 

Since  then  the  situation  has  not  changed  except  for 
the  worse,  though  a  young  Shah  has  succeeded  to  the 
throne,   and   Persia  has  received   the   Pandora's  box  of 


208      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

Parliamentary  Institutions.  Much  water  will  run  into 
the  Araxes,  and  very  like  much  blood  also,  before  Persia 
gets  a  good  government,  and  she  will  be  happy  if  only 
Russia  and  England  arrange  these  blessings  for  her,  and 
not  marauding  Germany  as  well. 


CHAPTER   XXII 

THE  FATE  OF  REFORMS  IN  PERSIA 

Following  the  good  advice  of  Foreign  Ministers  who 
pointed  out  to  him  the  faults  in  the  administration  of 
the  provinces,  the  Shah  tried  to  have  governors  who 
would  conform  with  European  ideas  and  not  over-tax  or 
ill-treat  the  inhabitants  of  their  provinces.  He  chose 
from  among  his  courtiers  a  man  who  had  been  educated 
in  Europe  and  was  favourable  to  these  ideas.  But  no 
one  in  the  province  to  which  he  was  sent  understood 
what  a  blessing  it  was  ;  they  only  despised  him  for  his 
weakness.  The  result  was  that  not  a  fourth  of  the 
taxes  could  be  raised.  Crimes  increased  ;  as  he  was  un- 
willing to  have  recourse  to  cruelty,  he  had  to  resign 
his  post. 

They  actually  robbed  him  when  he  was  on  his  return 
to  Teheran. 

The  Shah  was  quite  determined  to  take  his  revenge 
on  the  inhabitants  of  that  province,  and  sent  them  as 
governor  the  most  reactionary  and  violent  of  his  officers. 

Hardly  had  he  arrived  before  the  bastinado  was  in 
full  swing.  He  had  the  taxes  paid  twice  in  the  first 
month,  and  sundry  recalcitrants  blown  from  the  mouths 
14 


210      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

of  guns,  so  that  he  made  quite  a  name  all  round.  The 
same  people  who  had  despised  his  just  and  kind-hearted 
predecessor  so  much  that  they  called  him  a  woman, 
admired  the  new-comer,  whom  they  dreaded,  and  said, 
"  At  last  we  have  a  lion." 

As  an  instance  of  the  arbitrariness  to  which  the 
Persian  populace  is  accustomed  to  submit,  I  may  mention 
the  governor  who  had  some  people  bastinadoed  because 
they  had  been  walking  in  the  bazars  without  treading 
the  backs  of  their  slippers  under  their  heels. 

All  this  shows  that  the  Persian  people  are  not  yet 
quite  ripe  for  Parliamentary  Institutions,  and  other 
"  blessinofs  of  civilisation." 

Another  still-born  attempt  at  introducing  Occidental 
ideas  was  the  establishment  of  the  Persian  Patrie. 

When  Nasr-ed-din  Shah  came  back  from  his  first 
voyage  in  Europe,  he  was  full  of  projects  of  reform  ; 
the  one  which  interested  him  particularly  was  the 
propagation  of  ideas  by  the  means  of  the  Press.  He 
was  very  fond  of  the  European  papers  ;  every  day  one 
of  his  viziers  had  to  read  them  to  him.  So,  in  order 
to  have  a  well-edited  and  interesting  paper,  he  thought 
the  best  way  would  be  to  put  it  under  European 
direction.  The  Minister  of  P'oreign  Affairs  had  an 
editor  sent  from  Paris,  and  the  paper  was  to  be 
Franco  -  Persian,  French  being  the  only  European 
language  used  by  the  Persians.  The  name  chosen 
was  La  Patrie,  something  quite  new  to  Persia,  where 
the  idea  of  patrie  does  not  exist. 


I 


£ 

3 
O 


V 

3 

a- 
o 


a 
>. 

i. 

3 
O 


THE  FATE  OF  REFORMS  IN  PERSIA     211 

When  the  French  director  arrived  in  Teheran,  he  was 
told  to  act  as  he  would  in  France.  The  "  extremely 
liberal  ideas  "  of  His  Majesty  were  vaunted  to  him,  and 
his  desire  to  Europeanise  his  kingdom.  The  Frenchman 
a  republican,  totally  ignorant  of  Persian  ways,  took  this 
for  plain  truth,  and  wrote  his  leader  in  accordance  with 
it.  The  first  number  of  La  Patrie  was  printed  on  the 
5th  of  February  1876,  a  historical  date  without  any 
to-morrow. 

"  To  our  Readers  and  Confreres. 

"  We  have  obtained  from  the  Imperial  Government 
of  His  Majesty  the  Shah  the  authorisation  to  publish  a 
Franco- Persian  paper,  and  in  delivering  to  the  public  this 
first  number,  we  feel  the  need  to  let  him  know  the  line  of 
conduct  that  we  intend  to  follow,  and  from  which  we  shall 
not  desist. 

*'  Persia  was  till  now  deprived  of  a  serious  organ 
which  could  properly  make  it  known  and,  if  wanted,  to 
help  it  in  foreign  countries. 

"  Our  confrere  the  Iran,  the  official  paper  of  the 
Government,  has  indeed  rendered  many  services  ;  but, 
written  only  in  Persian,  it  is  little  spread  and  little  known 
out  of  Persia. 

"  We  intend  to  fulfil  this  first  lacune  in  making  known 
to  our  confreres  of  Europe  all  the  grave  political  questions 
or  those  of  general  interest  relating  to  Persia. 

"  We  shall  be  very  happy  every  time  they  will  give 
us  the  occasion  to  discuss  with  them,  and  if  *  from  the 


212      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

clash  of  ideas  must  flow  light,'  we  hope  that  it  will  be 
done  in  Persia.  We  pray  then  the  European  Press  to 
allow  us  to  sit  with  it  at  the  intellectual  banquet  of 
Thought  and  discussion.  We  solicit  the  humblest  place  ; 
it  is  the  one  which  is  proper  for  us.  We  are  young,  but 
we  ask  only  to  profit  by  the  experience,  the  wisdom,  of 
our  European  predecessors,  and  to  make  its  benefits 
spurt  over  Persia. 

"As  to  the  internal  (interior)  affairs,  we  shall  speak 
of  them  with  the  most  absolute  independence :  we  have 
no  party,  and  do  not  want  to  have  any  ;  we  want  to  serve 
the  country  in  showing  it  its  true  needs.  We  shall  sup- 
port progress ;  every  time  that  it  manifests  itself,  we 
shall  help  it  by  our  encouragement,  biit  we  shall  never  be 
vile  flatte7'ers.  We  shall  not  burn  incense  to  poiver ;  we 
shall  defend  every  just  cause  and  blame  every  reprehen 
sible  act. 

"We  shall  support  the  power  which  represents  law 
to  us  ;  but  if  its  acts  are  contrary  to  law,  we  shall  blame 
them  the  more  severely.  We  shall  never  interfere  with 
private  life ;  not  only  we  shall  be  neutral,  but  also  com- 
pletely blind  on  that  subject ;  lue  shall  criticise  the  acts 
injurious  {noxious^  to  the  general  interests  of  the  country. 

"  War  then  upon  abuses  and  those  who  commit  them.  I 
Respect  religion,  respect  the  Sovereign !  Progress, 
justice,  equity  :  this  is  our  device,  this  is  our  programme. 

''  Pat7'ie  is  the  name  that  we  have  chosen  for  our 
paper,  patriotism  being  the  first  civic  virtue  of  a  nation. 
In  Persia  it  embraces  hardly  more  than  the  natal  district : 


THE  FATE  OF  REFORMS  IN  PERSIA     213 

true  patriotism  must  also  include  love  of  the  Sovereign, 
of  laws,  institutions,  and  Government  of  the  country. 
'To  every  noble  heart  his  Fatherland  is  dear,'  says  a 
French  author ;  may  we  use  the  prestige  of  our  name  to 
be  welcomed  by  our  readers.  We  shall  devote  all  our 
cares  to  merit  popular  favour,  in  constituting  ourselves 
everywhere,  and  on  every  occasion,  the  champion  of  the 
rights  of  the  country  and  of  the  people." 

There  was  never  any  second  number,  nor  could 
the  editor  be  allowed  to  remain  in  the  country.  At  the 
expense  of  three  years'  salary  to  the  Shah,  he  left  for 
Europe  at  once. 

Another  prize  fiasco  was  the  Tobacco  Concession, 
which  not  only  fell  through,  but  nearly  dragged  down  the 
Kajar  dynasty  in  its  train. 

On  the  20th  of  Rajeb  1307  —  the  21st  of 
March  1890 — a  treaty  was  signed  between  the  Persian 
Government  and  an  English  syndicate,  by  which  the 
Government  conceded  the  monopoly  of  the  exportation 
of  tobaccos  in  all  Persia  for  the  annual  payment  of 
fifteen  thousand  pounds  and  the  promise  to  give  the 
Government  beyond  that  what  they  used  to  receive  in 
taxes  on  the  tobacco.  More  than  a  hundred  thousand 
pounds  of  backsheesh  had  to  be  distributed. 

A  few  months  after,  a  quantity  of  English  and 
Levantine  employees  arrived  in  Persia,  with  airs  of 
conquest  which  gave  great  displeasure  to  the  natives, 
and    a    few    disturbances    arose.     The    priests,    under- 


214      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

standing  the  advantage  they  could  derive  from  it,  fanned 
the  flame.  They  were  very  likely  helped  in  that  by  the 
Russians,  who  were  disagreeably  affected  by  the  im- 
portant concession  being  awarded  to  their  chief  rivals 
in  Persia. 

The  first  reason  given  by  the  priests  was  the  impurity 
of  the  tobacco  on  account  of  its  having  passed  through 
the  hands  of  infidels ;  and  the  Moujtehid  of  Kerbela, 
the  most  influential  priest  in  Persia,  who  resides  on  the 
Turkish  territory,  forbade  the  use  of  tobacco.  He  wrote 
to  the  Shah  that  selling  to  Christians  privileges  which 
belonged  to  Mussulmans  was  contrary  to  the  Koran  ;  and, 
curiously  enough,  all  Persians  refrained  from  smoking. 
All  the  tobacco  shops  were  shut.  Everybody  obeyed  : 
if  anyone  had  been  seen  smoking,  he  would  have  been 
mobbed. 

The  Shah,  frightened,  and  influenced  by  Russia, 
promised  to  take  back  the  concession  as  soon  as  the 
indemnity  to  recompense  the  company  could  be  fixed. 
He  hoped  that  temporising  would  be  a  remedy.  And 
as  there  was  a  revolt  in  Tabriz,  and  the  palace  of  the 
Crown  Prince  was  threatened,  he  ordered  that  all  the 
functionaries  of  the  company  in  Azerbeijan  should  be 
Persians.  Ispahan  and  Shiraz  began  to  move  also,  but 
they  received  only  good  words.  The  Government  ex- 
pected that  after  a  little  time  had  passed  they  would 
become  reconciled  to  the  idea,  and  submit  to  the 
fait  accompli. 

In  a  place  called  Kelardesht,  a    Seyyed,  who  gave 


THE  FATE  OF  REFORMS  IN  PERSIA     215 

himself  the  name  of  Alamghir  —  Conqueror  of  the 
World — preached  rebellion,  and  succeeded  in  raising 
a  few  hundred  followers.  It  appeared  more  formidable 
than  it  really  was,  for  when  the  Shah  sent  some  troops 
the  rebels  were  easily  captured. 

But  in  Teheran  one  was  on  the  qui  vive.  The  Shah 
quitted  the  town  to  go  to  a  hunting  box,  and  left  the 
Grand  Vizier  alone.  The  governor  of  the  town  had  all 
the  doors  of  the  palace  walled  up  except  one  or  two. 
But  still  the  company  was  ready  to  buy  the  tobacco. 
A  few  growers  sent  in  their  crops,  but  some  rich 
merchants  deliberately  burnt  theirs  in  the  public  square 
rather  than  give  it  to  the  hated  foreigner.  Still  there 
was  not  a  man  to  be  seen  smoking,  and  the  firm  attitude 
of  the  population  very  much  astonished  the  European 
representatives,  who  did  not  expect  so  much  from  the 
weak  character  of  the  Persians.  The  Minister  of  Great 
Britain  was  the  very  first  to  advise  the  company  to 
surrender  the  concession.  Meetings  were  organised  for 
discussing  the  indemnity.  A  Persian  dared  to  say,  in 
the  presence  of  the  Grand  Vizier,  that  first  of  all  those 
who  had  received  backsheesh  must  hand  it  in  as  a 
contribution  to  the  indemnity.  And  one  morning 
Europeans  found  on  the  walls  of  their  quarter  posters 
threatening  them  with  death  if  in  two  days'  time  the 
concession  was  not  cancelled.  This  impressed  the  Shah, 
who  put  up  other  posters  to  this  effect :  "  Out  of  love 
of  my  people,   I  cancel  the  concession." 

Soon   after,    he    received    congratulations   from    the 


216      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

clergy,  and  especially  from  the  Moujtehid  of  Kerbela, 
who  added  that  it  would  be  wise  and  to  the  advantage 
of  religion  to  take  away  from  the  defiling  hands  of 
Europeans  all  concessions.  This  made  the  Shah  and 
the  Government  very  furious ;  and  in  the  desire  to 
appear  energetic,  he  sent  an  order  to  the  Moujtehid 
Ashtiani  of  Teheran  to  smoke,  in  order  to  set  an 
example  to  the  inhabitants,  or,  in  default  of  that,  to  go 
into  exile  instantly.  Ashtiani  chose  exile,  and  contrived 
that  everybody  should  know  it  immediately,  and  some 
of  his  people  went  into  the  bazars  and  fomented  a 
disturbance.  In  a  moment  the  rioters  were  marching 
on  the  palace.  They  began  by  throwing  stones  at  the 
palace  of  Naib-es-Saltaneh,  next  to  the  Shah's,  which 
was  surrounded  by  troops.  They  were  commencing  to 
attack  the  Shah's  palace,  to  which  His  Majesty  had 
returned  the  day  before,  when  the  officer  who  was  in 
command  of  the  troops  lost  his  head,  and  gave  the 
command  to  fire.  Three  volleys  were  fired,  and  seven 
people  were  killed,  and  nearly  thirty  wounded.  That 
was  enough  to  make  everybody  fly.  Meanwhile  Euro- 
peans were  very  much  alarmed.  Two  of  them,  who 
were  in  the  bazars,  owed  their  lives  to  the  protection 
of  some  natives.  One  was  nailed  up  in  a  packing-case 
and  was  rescued  in  the  middle  of  the  night  ;  the  other 
was  discruised  as  a  Persian  woman.  The  disofuise  saved 
his  life  ;  for  in  it  he  was  able  to  cross  the  streets  to  the 
European  quarter. 

On  the  day  after,  as  the  Europeans  expected  to  be 


THE  FATE  OF  REFORMS  IN  PERSIA     217 

massacred,  the  director  of  the  company  asked  all  those 
who  wished,  to  come  and  take  refuge  in  the  huge 
building  of  the  company,  in  order  to  sell  their  lives 
dearly,  and  many  went  there.  There  was  a  big  lunch, 
which  was  called  the  Lunch  of  the  Massacre.  They 
expected,  for  their  dessert,  to  have  their  heads  cut  off. 
But  nothing  happened,  and  everybody  went  home  un- 
molested. 

The  Moujtehid  Ashtiani  had  neither  smoked  nor 
departed.  He  gave  as  an  excuse  that  the  mob  would 
let  him  go  only  on  the  condition  that  the  Shah  tear 
up  in  their  presence  the  original  contract  of  the  con- 
cession, which  he  asked  the  Shah  to  send  to  him.  The 
answer  of  the  Shah  was  that  he  could  remain,  and  at 
the  same  time  the  bearer  brought  him  a  diamond  ring. 
But  Ashtiani  accepted  that  present  only  when  he  learned 
of  the  dissolution  of  the  company,  announced  by  the 
poster  of  the  director  himself,  who  at  the  same  time 
asked  the  people  who  had  sold  the  tobacco  to  him  to 
come  back  and  take  it  away. 

A  little  time  after,  the  public  crier  announced  in  the 
streets  and  the  bazars  that  the  Moujtehid  of  Kerbela 
had  removed  the  prohibition  on  smoking,  which  was  a 
great  relief.  One  heard  again  in  the  streets  the  cries 
of  the  Kalyan-frouch — the  men  who  carry  about  tobacco 
and  pipes,  light  them,  and,  for  a  trifle,  hire  them  out  to 
you  to  be  smoked. 

An  agreement  was  afterwards  come  to  between  the 
Persian  Government  and  the  English  Legation,  by  which, 


218      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

after  a  delay  of  four  months,  the  sum  of  five  hundred 
thousand  pounds  was  to  be  paid  to  the  company.  And 
so,  what  at  one  time  appeared  likely  to  be  an  affair  of 
importance,  quietly  ended. 

The  vox  populi  has  not  the  weight  of  the  vox  dei 
in  Persia.  It  is  generally  condemned  to  the  silence 
which  means  consent. 

In  order  to  know  the  opinion  of  his  subjects  on  their 
governors,  the  late  Shah  had  letter-boxes  put  up  in  the 
principal  squares  of  each  town.  These  boxes  were 
sealed,  in  order  that  they  could  only  be  opened  in  his 
presence.  The  people  were  invited  to  put  in  them  any 
complaint  they  had  to  make.  But  this  experiment  had 
no  effect,  for  the  governors  used  to  put  two  sentinels 
on  each  side  of  the  box  with  whips,  and  if  anyone  had 
the  idea  of  posting  a  letter  to  the  Shah,  he  was  whipped 
away. 

The  new  Shah,  Mohammed  Ali,  has  had  recourse 
to  a  more  modern  means.  He  has  established  a  tele- 
phone cabin  in  the  Meidan-i-Toup-Khaneh  in  Teheran, 
and  anybody  who  has  a  complaint  to  make  to  him  may 
ring  him  up.  But  the  chances  are  that  the  telephone 
will  share  the  fate  of  the  pillar-box. 


CHAPTER   XXIII 
BAZARS— I 

SHOEMAKERS — TOBACCONISTS    AND    PROVISION    DEALERS 

The  bazars  in  the  East  being  the  centre  of  active  life, 
it  was  there  that  I  used  to  go  most  with  the  Mirza, 
to  gather  Persian  impressions. 

Like  the  bazars  in  Constantinople  and  Cairo,  those 
of  Teheran  consist  of  an  immense  labyrinth  of  streets 
covered  with  brick  vaults,  forming  an  uninterrupted  row 
of  little  domes,  in  the  middle  of  each  of  which  a  round 
hole  is  pierced  to  let  in  the  light.  Through  this  hole 
the  sun  darts  its  rays  like  the  flash-light  of  a  man- 
of-war  amid  the  half-lights  of  the  vaults,  which  in 
summer  keep  the  air  so  cool. 

When  you  enter  the  great  central  artery,  which 
starts  from  the  south  of  the  Sabz-Meidan,  you  are  in 
the  Bazar  of  the  Shoemakers.  On  both  sides  of  the 
vault  are  stalls,  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  square,  with  a 
floor  about  three  feet  above  the  ground.  These  are 
occupied  by  the  makers  of  all  sorts  of  shoes.  Here  are 
pahpousk,  yellow,  or  green  for  the  Mollahs ;  there  are 
the  tiny   red  slippers  with    turned -up   toes  and  metal 

819 


220      QUEER  THINGS  AHOUT  PERSIA 

heels  which  the  women  wear.  Farther  on  are  the  ugly 
boots  of  blacking  leather  or  patent  leather  with  elastic 
sides  which  are  intended  for  those  who  wish  to  enjoy 
the  advantages  of  civilisation.  Then  come  the  shops 
where  you  buy  the  giveh,  the  national  shoes  of  Persia, 
made  of  very  strong  white  linen,  with  soles  of  plaited 
thongs  dyed  green  ;  and  the  yellow  top-boots,  with  the 
red  rolled-over  tops  and  very  turned-up  toes  and  thick 
soles,  like  Tartar  boots,  which  are  worn  by  the  Persians 
in  the  mountains. 

Nothing  used  to  amuse  me  more  than  the  diversity 
of  types  we  met  in  the  bazar.  All  the  types  and  all 
the  costumes  of  Central  and  Western  Asia  elbow  each 
other  here  in  the  most  extraordinary  medley. 

The  first  thing  I  saw  in  the  bazars,  riding  a  mule, 
was  a  venerable  Moujtehid,  in  a  close  -  rolled  white 
turban  of  a  thousand  little  folds,  wound  round  and 
round  a  pointed  conical  cap.  He  was  accompanied 
by  a  numerous  suite  of  Mollahs,  who  wore  turbans  too, 
but  not  with  the  same  elaborate  coils,  because  these 
are  reserved  for  the  highest  ranks  of  the  priesthood  ; 
of  Seyyeds,  with  dark  blue  turbans,  or  green,  if  they 
were  hadji  (pilgrims),  as  well  as  descendants  of  the 
Prophet,  all  of  them  wearing  long  flowing  robes, 
belted  in  at  the  waist  by  a  Cashmere  shawl  in  which 
the  calamdan  and  the  roll  of  paper  appear  which  are 
the  badge  of  men  of  letters.  The  crowd  made  deep 
bows  to  the  Moujtehid,  and  many  of  them  kissed  the 
hem    of  his   garment.     He   looked  at   them  with   con- 


N 


3 
IT 


e 
■J 


BAZARS  221 

descension,  but  with  a  distracted  attention,  for  his  eyes 
seemed  to  be  regarding  in  the  visionary  distance  the 
series  of  the  Seven  Heavens  promised  in  the  Koran. 
The  Persian  is  very  theatrical ;  he  always  likes  to  look 
his  part.  If  he  is  a  general,  he  is  Bombastes ;  if  he  is 
a  judge,  he  is  Rhadamanthus. 

Then  came  an  Armenian  in  a  low  kolah,  with  clothes 
which  he  imagined  to  be  European.  He  was  careful 
not  to  brush  the  Mussulmans,  knowing  that  they  would 
curse  him  if  he  polluted  them  with  his  impure  touch. 

The  men  with  flashing  eyes  and  moustaches  like 
a  walrus's,  wearing  a  sort  of  bolero  made  of  plaited 
foals'  hair,  and  a  round  white  cap  encircled  with  striped 
silk,  whose  fringe  fell  over  their  faces,  were  merchants 
from  Kurdistan.  Their  rifles,  slung  over  their  right 
shoulders,  and  bandoliers  full  of  cartridges,  showed  that 
even  Mercury  could  not  go  out  without  being  armed 
in  their  "charming"  country. 

The  man  with  a  square  beard,  with  a  blue  and 
white  striped  cloth  on  his  head,  held  in  its  place  by 
a  crown  of  camel's  hair  cords  with  gold  knobs,  was  a 
merchant  of  Baghdad ;  he  was  positively  glittering  in 
his  sky-blue  abba  with  golden  stripes  like  sun-rays. 
As  he  passed  by  the  Orthodox  Persians  cursed  him, 
for  he  was  a  Sunnite,  and  his  dress  was  like  the  one 
that  the  assassins  of  Kassem  wear  in  the  religious 
processions  of  Moharrem.  The  young  negro  who 
followed  him  was  a  Somali  slave  that  he  was  probably 
going  to  sell. 


222      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

Then  came  a  water-carrier,  dressed  in  nothing  but 
a  dirty  shirt,  bowed  down  by  the  weight  of  his  goat-skin 
full  of  water,  which  swayed  about  on  his  back.  He  held 
in  his  left  hand  one  of  the  legs  of  the  skin,  which  is  the 
tap  through  which  he  draws  the  water,  and  in  his 
right  a  brass  cup  engraved  with  sentences  from  the 
Koran  and  verses  of  poetry,  reciting  the  praises  of 
the  liquid  that  he  was  selling.  He  was  watering  the 
front  of  a  shop. 

There  were  interminable  files  of  black  phantoms 
gliding  from  shop  to  shop,  bargaining  noiselessly,  and 
disappearing  like  shadows.  This  is  all  that  one  sees 
of  the  fair  sex,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  Armenian 
women,  half- veiled,  with  round  caps  of  embroidered 
velvet  on  the  tops  of  their  heads,  from  which  fall  a 
quantity  of  plaits,  concealed  in  the  folds  of  the 
chader,  which  they  wear  like  their  Mussulman  con- 
geners. 

Horsemen  were  riding  about,  and  there  were  strings 
of  little  grey  donkeys  loaded  with  bricks  for  building, 
and  interminable  caravans  of  camels  with  deafening 
bells.  Their  heads,  ornamented  with  tufts  of  red, 
green,  and  yellow,  were  balanced  in  a  bored  and 
supercilious  sort  of  way  on  the  top  of  their  long 
swans'  necks,  encircled  with  collars  of  red  leather 
ornamented  with  little  white  cowries.  Their  india- 
rubber  -  like  feet  flattened  out  as  they  touched  the 
ground  with  the  regularity  of  a  clock ;  the  loads 
hanging  from   each  side  of  their  humps,  swaying  and 


BAZARS  223 

knocking  against  the  walls,  were  a  perpetual  menace 
for  the  foot  passenger.  Suddenly  there  was  a  pande- 
monium :  two  caravans  coming  in  opposite  directions 
had  met.  The  camel-drivers  shouted  to  make  their 
beasts  give  way  to  each  other,  but  in  vain ;  for  the 
beasts  were  locked  together  as  their  loads  caught,  and 
dashed  the  foot  passengers  into  the  walls.  The  cries 
of  fury  and  the  oaths  of  the  camel  -  drivers  were 
blended  with  the  growling  of  the  camels,  the  yells 
of  the  people,  and  the  howling  of  the  dogs  which 
were  run  over,  and  the  screams  of  the  frightened 
women. 

The  entire  traffic  was  suspended,  and  it  took  more 
than  half  an  hour  to  re-establish  order.  This  incident, 
during  which  the  Mirza  and  I  took  refuge  in  a  shop 
in  order  not  to  be  crushed,  gave  me  the  opportunity 
of  bargaining  for  a  pair  of  exquisite  little  pahpousk 
of  gazelle  skin,  embroidered  with  golden  palms  and 
mother-of-pearl  dates.  One  of  these  was  still  in  the 
hands  of  the  workmen.  The  merchant  asked  a 
ridiculous  price,  as  if  the  pearls  had  been  real ;  and 
to  give  them  more  value  in  my  eyes,  he  assured  me 
that  they  belonged  to  one  of  those  mysterious  phantoms 
whom  fear  had  driven  into  the  corner  of  his  shop, 
and  who,  he  said,  was  a  Kkanount  {i.e.  lady)  of  import- 
ance. The  Mirza  drew  my  attention  to  a  chader  of 
black  silk  fringed  with  gold  lace  in  the  middle  of 
some  cotton  chaders.  Who  knows  ?  it  might  have 
been    a    princess    shopping    with    her    maids.       How 


224      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

excitinor   it  would    have    been    to    have    carried    off  the 

o 

pahpoush  of  the  trembHng  phantom,  who,  seated  in 
that  corner,  looked  like  a  half -filled  balloon  in  the 
middle  of  other  half-filled  balloons.  All  sorts  of  ideas 
passed  through  my  mind :  I  had  visions  of  a  Cinderella 
of  the  "Thousand  and  One  Nights,"  or  else  perhaps 
this  mignon  slipper  that  I  was  holding  in  my  hand 
had  been  used  by  the  lady  to  chastise  her  unfaithful 
husband,  for  the  heel  of  the  pahpoush  is  a  favourite 
weapon  in  the  harem. 

But  the  Mirza  frowned  at  me,  and  I  understood  that 
all  this  was  the  Eternal  Persian  Mirage,  and  must  go  the 
way  of  all  mirages.  ...   So  I  ran  away  laughing. 

We  passed  through  the  bazar  of  kalyans,  chibouks,  and 
other  pipes,  which  was  crowded  with  pilgrims  from 
Kashgar,  easily  recognisable  by  their  high  cheek-bones 
and  narrow  eyes,  laying  in  supplies  for  their  journey  to 
Mecca,  and  went  to  the  Tobacco  Bazar. 

It  is  a  very  quiet  place,  full  of  the  fragrance  of 
nicotine.  On  the  counters  were  bricks  of  amber-coloured 
tobacco,  almost  as  closely  pressed  as  wood — some  a  yard 
high  and  long  and  wide,  some  still  sewn  up  in  goat-skins. 
There  were  also  beautiful  long  leaves  of  tobacco  of 
Shiraz  for  the  kalyans,  and  tobacco  of  Kachan,  shredded 
into  fine  flakes  like  curls  of  fair  hair,  for  making  into 
cigarettes. 

Flint  and  steel  are  still  much  used,  but  are  being 
driven  out  by  Japanese  and  Russian  imitations  of  Swedish 
matches — the  Japanese  being  incomparably  better. 


BAZARS  225 

There  was  an  attempt  to  start  a  match  factory  in 
Persia,  but  it  failed. 

Seeing  some  very  beautiful  leaves  of  tobacco  for  the 
kalyan,  I  asked  the  price,  and  was  told  a  price  which 
came  to  about  two  francs — four  krans — the  pound.  I 
ordered  two  pounds. 

"  But  you  put  your  thumb  on  the  scales ! "  I  ex- 
claimed, seeing  that  the  merchant  was  cheating.  He 
looked  at  me — there  was  a  pause — and  then  he  said,  in 
the  most  unabashed  way,  "  Do  you  imagine  that  I  am 
going  to  give  you  tobacco  of  that  fineness  for  four 
krans  the  pound  if  I  did  not  put  my  thumb  in  the 
scale  ?  " 

I  was  so  pleased  to  find  a  Persian  so  Persian,  that 
I  could  do  nothing  but  take  the  tobacco  and  add  a  little 
backsheesh  to  the  price  he  asked. 

From  this  bazar,  in  order  to  get  to  the  Jewellers' 
Bazar,  we  made  our  way  to  the  Provision  Bazar.  In 
this  there  were  all  sorts  of  smells,  each  more  disagreeable 
than  the  last,  so  that  it  was  no  good  trying  to  escape 
them.  We  passed  fruit-sellers  with  most  picturesque 
stalls,  artistically  arranged  with  the  famous  melons  of 
Ispahan,  whose  flavour  is  renowned  all  over  Western 
Asia  ;  the  grapes  of  Kasvin,  and  the  peaches  and  apricots 
of  Teheran.  The  peach  is,  as  everyone  knows,  the 
Persian  fruit ;  its  name  is  derived  from  Persica,  and 
though  the  trees  are  not  trained  in  Persia  with  the  same 
care  as  in  Europe,  the  flavour  of  the  fruit  is  so  delightful 
that  it  deserves  the  honour.  Huge  pale  yellow  citrons 
15 


226      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

were  ranged  next  to  bursting  pomegranates,  while 
stalactites  of  cucumbers  and  necklaces  of  onions  hung 
from  the  ceiling.  On  shelves  were  piled  lettuces,  mixed 
with  pots  of  flowers  and  very  often  cages,  golden-barred, 
in  which  the  bulbul  sang  to  the  rose. 

There  was  a  crowd  in  front  of  a  butcher's  stall  as 
we  passed  it.  To  my  amazement,  I  saw  that  a  man 
was  hooked  by  his  feet  like  a  sheep.  The  Mirza 
explained  to  me  that  he  had  sold  putrid  meat,  and 
that  that  was  an  ordinary  punishment  for  this  offence. 
In  case  of  very  grave  offences,  butchers  have  some- 
times been  cut  up  like  carcasses,  right  down  the 
middle. 

A  little  farther  on  were  the  bakers'  shops.  They 
are  very  peculiar.  First,  you  noticed  the  oven,  which 
was  built  into  one  of  the  corners  opening  on  the  street ; 
then  the  bread  spread  out  in  sheets  upon  sloping 
boards  which  reached  from  floor  to  roof. 

Mirza  Ali  Akbar  told  me  that  during  the  last 
famine  the  bakers  had  been  buying  up  and  concealing 
the  corn  in  order  to  send  up  the  price.  The  governor 
of  the  town  came  in  a  fury  with  his  ferrashes  to  the 
Bakers'  Bazar,  and,  seeing  all  the  stalls  empty,  asked 
the  first  baker  why  he  had  no  bread  out.  The  man 
made  an  unfortunate  answer :  **  We  have  nothing  to 
put  in  the  ovens,  your  Excellency."  "  By  the  Shah's 
salt,"  answered  the  governor,  turning  to  his  ferrashes, 
"put  him  into  the  oven,  and  we  shall  see!"  On 
the    following    day    all    the    shops    were,    of    course, 


BAZARS  227 

full  of  bread.  That  shows,  added  the  Mirza,  that 
energetic  measures  are  the  only  kind  to  succeed  in 
Persia. 

There   is  no   Milk   Bazar,   or   Heaven  knows  what 
one  might  see  there. 


CHAPTER   XXIV 

BAZARS— II 

FUNERALS — THE    BAZAR    OF    THE    BOOKSELLERS — 
MIRZA    ALI    AKBAR's    GARDEN 

Onc  day,  as  we  were  on  our  way  to  the  Bazar  of  the 
Booksellers,  to  buy  a  few  works  that  I  wanted  to  trans- 
late, we  saw  a  funeral  approaching  us. 

The  body,  wrapped  in  precious  fabrics,  was  carried  by 
four  men  on  their  shoulders,  upon  a  bier  encircled  with 
a  low  wooden  balustrade.  As  it  passed  in  front  of  us, 
all  of  a  sudden  Mirza  Ali  Akbar  left  me,  and  brusquely 
sprang  at  the  bier.  One  of  the  bearers  gave  up  his  place 
to  him,  and  he  walked  for  a  few  yards  very  hurriedly, 
till  another  man  took  his  place. 

I  waited  for  him,  without  being  very  much  astonished 
at  what  he  had  done,  for  I  knew  that  it  was  considered 
as  a  charitable  act  which  brings  good  luck  to  give  a  lift 
to  the  dead. 

However,  I  asked  why  the  funeral  went  so  quickly. 
"  It  is,"  said  he,  "in  order  not  to  keep  the  Nekirin  wait- 
ing— i.e.  the  two  angels,  Nekir  and  Monkir,  who  in- 
terrogate the  dead." 

228 


BAZARS  229 

The  conversation  thus  inspired,  caused  us  to  speak 
of  death.  And  I  learnt  from  him  that  already,  during 
the  agony  of  the  dying,  his  bed  is  turned  in  such  a  way 
that  his  face  should  be  directed  towards  the  sanctuary  of 
the  Kaaba  at  Mecca,  whilst  the  Mollak,  who  has  come 
to  his  bedside,  or  anyone  who  is  there,  makes  him  pro- 
nounce the  Mussulman  profession  of  faith  in  Arabic : 
•'  There  is  no  God  but  God ;  Mahomet  is  the  prophet 
of  God,  and  Ali  his  Veli." 

As  soon  as  the  man  is  dead — or  very  likely  only 
supposed  to  be  so,  for  there  is  no  certificate  of  death  in 
Persia,  nor  any  medical  examination — the  lamentations 
begin.  All  the  family  give  heart-rending  shrieks,  and 
tear  their  clothes  and  put  ashes  on  their  heads,  whilst  a 
messenger  is  sent  to  fetch  the  washers  of  the  dead,  who 
come  and  take  away  the  body  to  a  house  reserved  for 
the  purpose.  There  he  is  stripped  of  his  clothes,  and 
washed  in  three  different  waters — firstly,  three  times  in 
plain  water ;  secondly,  three  times  in  water  infused  with 
myrrh ;  and  thirdly,  three  times  in  water  infused  with 
camphor,  beginning  at  the  head  and  ending  at  the 
feet. 

The  corpse  is  then  re-dressed  in  a  Kafan  —  i.e. 
garment  of  the  dead — after  the  washers  of  the  dead  put, 
if  he  be  a  fully  grown  man,  two  thin  wands  of  an  ell's 
length  under  the  armpits,  in  order  that  he  may  raise 
himself  on  them  when  he  is  interrogated  by  the  Nekirin. 
The  Kafan  is  made  of  pure  white  cotton  or  linen,  and 
is   composed   of   three   pieces — a  shirt,    a   cloth    which 


230      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

envelopes  the  head,  and  a  winding  sheet,  which 
envelopes  the  whole  body. 

According  to  the  amount  of  property  of  the  dead, 
this  Kafan  is  covered  with  stuff  more  or  less  precious. 
Then  the  corpse  is  taken  to  the  cemetery.  All  this  is 
done  in  great  haste.  The  deceased  is  buried  a  few 
hours  after  his  death.  This  is  the  reason  why  one 
hears  so  often  in  Persia  of  people  coming  to  life  again 
when  they  are  supposed  to  be  dead. 

The  only  exceptions  are  a  few  grandees  and  very 
rich  people,  whose  bodies  are  transported  to  a  sacred 
place  like  Kum,  Meshed,  or  Kerbela,  a  great  expense, 
especially  if  they  are  taken  to  Kerbela,  which  is  more 
than  a  month's  journey  by  caravan  from  Teheran. 

One  may  meet  such  a  caravan  on  the  road  of 
Hamadan,  with  mules  carrying  a  coffin  on  each  side. 
The  robbers  lie  in  wait  for  them  in  the  mountains  of 
Kurdistan  on  the  frontier  of  Turkey,  to  steal  the  presents 
to  the  shrine  sent  with  them,  or  to  rob  the  rich  widows 
who  accompany  their  departed  spouses.  It  is  in  Kerbela 
that  Muzaffer-ed-din  Shah  has  ordered  his  body  to  be 
buried,  in  the  sacred  territory  where  Imam  Houssein 
was  assassinated. 

During  the  progress  to  the  cemetery,  prayers  are 
recited  by  a  Mollah,  who  accompanies  the  funeral,  with 
responses  from  all  the  company. 

Arrived  at  the  cemetery,  where  a  grave  has  been 
dug,  they  place  in  it  first  of  all  a  mat,  upon  which  the 
body  is  lowered,  its  right  side  being  turned  towards  the 


ll 


/*' 


^^^^/V:  |J^^.*.-2»H'  -.w  'IStr  -ft^B  is  ^ 


r»tf.' 


t-"  _ 


s— « 


■■f^^ 


E 

« 

X 
O 


O 

X 
■♦-» 

c 
o 

E 

_>. 

o 


c 
'C 

3 
T3 

U 

3 

cr 

« 
o 

IS 


8 
O 


BAZARS  231 

Kaaba.  Over  the  body,  at  about  a  foot  and  a  half  from 
the  floor  of  the  grave,  a  vault  is  built  with  stones,  or 
planks  are  laid  across,  and  then  the  hole  is  filled  in 
with  earth. 

As  soon  as  this  human  ceremony  is  ended,  Nekir 
and  Monkir,  the  two  angels,  who  are  of  a  most  terrifying 
aspect,  armed  with  flaming  maces,  make  the  grave  blaze 
with  their  presence.  By  order  of  God  the  dead  revives, 
and,  raising  himself  on  the  two  wands  which  have  been 
placed  under  his  armpits,  sits  up. 

With  a  profound  and  threatening  voice  the  Nekirin 
then  demand  of  him,  "What  is  thy  religion?"  If  he 
answers,  "  There  is  no  God  but  God,  and  Mahomet  is 
his  prophet,  and  Ali  is  his  lieutenant,"  the  angels  bend 
over  him  and  caress  him.  But  if  the  answer  is  different, 
no  matter  if  he  speaks  in  the  name  of  the  Bible,  the 
Talmud,  or  the  Zend-Avesta,  the  Nekirin  strike  him 
dead  with  their  maces,  and  put  him  in  chains  and  drag 
him  off  to  hell. 

It  is  a  custom  that  a  third  of  the  fortune  left  by  the 
dead  should  be  spent  upon  him.  First  there  is  the 
expense  of  his  tomb,  which  may  be  a  simple  stone,  more 
or  less  carved,  but  without  any  inscription,  laid  upon 
the  earth  where  he  reposes,  with  another  stone,  some- 
times trefoil-headed,  like  ours,  sometimes  made  in  the 
shape  of  a  shaft  with  a  turban  at  the  top,  to  indicate 
where  the  head  lies ;  or  it  may  be  a  mausoleum,  with  a 
cupola.  Then  there  are  the  expenses  of  the  mourning 
and  fasting  (by  hired  mourners),  which  lasts  three  days 


232      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

or  more ;  and  then  there  are  the  expenses  for  the 
prayers,  the  fasting  and  the  reading  of  the  Koran  (the 
whole  or  parts  of  it),  and  the  pilgrimage  to  Meshed, 
Kerbela,  or  Mecca.  For  the  prayers,  the  fasting,  the 
Koran  reading,  and  the  pilgrimage,  a  certain  sum  of 
money  is  paid  to  persons  who  will  pray,  fast,  read  the 
Koran,  and  go  on  the  pilgrimage ;  but  all  the  benefits 
obtained  by  these  meritorious  actions  will  not  accrue  to 
them,  they  will  accrue  to  the  soul  of  the  dead. 

While  we  were  discoursing  about  Death,  we  arrived 
at  the  Bazar  of  the  Booksellers.  It  was  like  the  covered- 
in  yard  of  a  caravanserai,  with  rooms  opening  on  to 
balconies.  It  was  as  solemn  as  a  mosque ;  venerable 
old  men,  peering  into  dusty  books  and  wearing  the 
old  national  dress,  were  talking  to  the  shopkeepers  in 
a  whisper. 

We  sat  on  the  mats  in  front  of  a  shop,  whose 
owner  looked  at  me  with  less  forbidding  eyes  than  the 
others,  and  tea  was  brought  to  us.  The  Mirza  began 
to  talk  in  his  most  engaging  way,  whilst  all  the  public 
round  stared  at  us  with  unconcealed  hostility.  Valuable 
books  were  wrapped  up  in  old  stuffs,  and  it  was  in  vain 
that  I  asked  for  them  to  be  shown  to  me,  for  they  were 
sacred  books,  and  the  fact  of  having  them  in  my  hands 
would  have  polluted  them.  I  could  not  even  procure 
a  fine  Shahnameh  with  illustrations.  The  only  books 
that  I  could  buy  were  a  Gulistan  of  Sa'di,  in  manu- 
script of  rather  a  bad  hand,  for  good  handwriting  is  so 
appreciated  in  Persia  that  its  price  is  prohibitive. 


BAZARS  233 

A  few  lithographed  books  were  on  sale,  some 
executed  in  Bombay,  some  in  Constantinople  or  Cairo, 
but  very  few  made  in  Teheran. 

I  bought  also  the  popular  Tale  of  the  Forty  Paj^rots, 
bound  in  leather,  for  one  kran  (about  sixpence).  It  had 
very  primitive  illustrations. 

As  soon  as  we  had  completed  our  purchase  in  that 
sacred  and  inhospitable  spot,  the  Mirza  took  me  to  his 
garden,  which  he  had  promised  to  show  me.  We 
drove  to  the  Gate  of  Shimran,  and  in  the  plain,  a  few 
hundred  yards  from  the  city  moat,  he  showed  me  a 
square  enclosure  with  high  mud  walls.  We  alighted, 
and  passed  through  a  very  small  wooden  door,  neither 
heavy  nor  strong,  and  entered  what  the  Mirza  called 
his  bagcheh.  Like  the  Italians,  many  Persians  have 
gardens  outside  the  city,  far  from  their  houses,  where 
they  enjoy  sitting  in  the  shade  and  looking  at  flowers. 
The  garden  was  still  in  the  Land  of  Promise.  The 
Mirza  had  planted  some  poplars  about  a  yard  high  in 
very  straight  rows  raying  out  from  a  round  tank,  which 
furnished  all  the  water  supply.  The  paths  were  marked 
out  by  stones  picked  up  on  the  spot.  The  poplars 
looked  like  broom  handles  ;  hardly  any  of  them  gave 
any  sign  of  recognition  with  leaves,  because  they  had 
been  planted  so  recently. 

A  few  rose  trees  were  planted  here  and  there, 
covered  with  flowers,  but  the  general  aspect  was  arid 
and  stony.  In  spite  of  that,  the  Mirza  was  immensely 
proud  of  this  garden.      It  was   the  dream   of  his   life 


234      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

slowly  taking  shape.  There  was  a  little  kiosk  in  the 
corner,  made  of  mud,  like  the  walls,  and  unpainted 
wood,  with  the  front  open  except  for  a  little  trellis  on 
which  jasmine  was  trained. 

We  sat  on  a  little  carpet,  and  began  to  look  at  the 
books  we  had  purchased. 

I  was  most  attracted  by  the  funny,  childish  pictures 
of  the  Tale  of  the  Forty  Parrots,  and  we  began  to  read 
it.  It  tells  how  "Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  very 
rich  merchant  of  turquoises  in  Nishapur,  who  was  not 
married.  Everybody  wondered,  and  asked  him  why. 
He  explained  that  he  dreaded  making  the  experiment  of 
a  mother-in-law.  One  day  an  old  woman  came  to  him 
and  said,  '  I  have  exactly  what  you  want — a  girl,  beautiful 
as  the  moon  at  the  fourteenth  night,  with  a  figure  like  a 
cypress  and  tulip  cheeks,  who  has  no  mother  and  no 
father,  not  even  an  aunt.' 

"He  agreed  to  marry  her,  and  the  old  woman  brought 
her  to  him.  They  were  very  happy.  But  a  month  after 
the  marriage  the  merchant  received  the  news  that  the 
price  of  turquoises  had  doubled  in  Tiflis.  Seeing  that 
there  was  a  fresh  fortune  to  be  made,  he  prepared 
to  make  the  journey,  to  sell  his  stock.  The  only 
question  was,  what  should  he  do  with  regard  to  his 
young  wife?  He  had  no  family  himself,  and  he  had 
married  her  because  she  had  none.  So  he  was  in 
great  trouble,  when,  walking  in  the  bazar,  he  saw  two 
beautiful  talking  parrots  for  sale.  He  bought  them  for 
his    wife,   to   keep   her   company    while   he    was   away. 


BAZARS  235 

She  liked  them   very  much,  as  she  heard  their   sweet 
talking. 

"  On  the  day  of  the  departure  of  her  husband  she 
mounted  to  the  roof  to  see  him  galloping  away,  and 
waved  her  veil  until  he  had  long  disappeared  over  the 
horizon,  and  remained  sad  and  pensive  in  her  loneliness. 
Her  heart  was  so  dead  to  all  things  that  she  had  not  even 
the  desire  to  breathe  the  scent  of  the  rose. 

•'  Suddenly  a  cloud  of  dust  arose  in  the  plain.  Her 
curiosity  was  awakened,  and  when  the  cloud  drew  nearer, 
she  perceived  that  it  was  the  son  of  the  Shah,  riding 
with  his  falconers.  He  was  as  beautiful  as  the  rising 
sun,  and  she  nearly  fainted.  She  took  a  little  stone  and 
threw  it ;  the  prince  lifted  up  his  head  and  saw  that  moon 
of  beauty.  He  could  think  of  nothing  else  but  possess- 
ing her. 

"  When  the  night  came,  he  sent  an  old  woman  to  bid 
her  to  come  to  him  ;  and  the  forgetful  wife,  quite  excited 
at  the  idea  of  becoming  the  wife  of  the  Shahzadeh, 
agreed  to  go,  took  her  ckader,  enveloped  herself  in  it, 
bound  the  rouhband  in  front  of  her  face,  and  was  about 
to  leave  the  house,  when  the  parrots  cried  out  to  her, 
'  Oh,  mistress,  where  are  you  going  in  this  way  at  night  ? 
Do  you  not  fear  the  dangers  of  the  streets  ? ' 

"  '  Mind  your  own  business  ! '  she  answered  angrily  ; 
and  as  the  parrots  kept  on  repeating  their  question,  she 
took  one  of  them  and  wrung  its  neck. 

"  Then  she  repented  of  her  cruelty.  The  other  parrot 
began   to  cry  bitterly  for   the  loss  of  her  husband,  so 


236      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

Zarin-Taj — for  that  was  the  name  of  the  lady — had  to 
remain  to  console  her,  and  said  to  the  old  woman,  '  I  will 
"■o  to-morrow  niijht ! ' 

"  On  the  day  after,  as  soon  as  the  twilight  was 
drawing  in,  the  old  woman  knocked  at  the  door  again. 
Zarin-Taj,  remembering  her  promise,  took  her  chader, 
enveloped  herself  in  it,  bound  the  rouhband  in  front  of 
her  face,  and  was  going  to  leave  the  house,  when  the 
parrot  cried  out  to  her  as  before,  '  Oh,  mistress,  where 
are  you  going  in  this  way  ?  Do  you  forget  that  it  was 
on  a  night  like  this  that  a  terrible  fate  happened  to  the 
fair  Zeinab?' 

*'  Zarin-Taj  asked  what  Zeinab's  fate  was,  and  the 
parrot  began  to  tell  a  long  story  that  lasted  to  the 
dawn." 

And  the  same  thing  happened  for  forty  nights,  till  the 
return  of  the  husband. 

The  scheme  is  that  of  the  Arabian  Nights.  Each 
of  these  stories  is  a  mixture  of  love  and  the  marvellous 
adventures  in  which  the  childish  Oriental  mind  delights. 

We  had  not  time  to  finish  even  the  first  chapter 
before  it  was  time  for  me  to  go  back  to  my  dinner. 

I  drove  home  through  lonely  streets.  In  Persia 
there  is  none  of  that  coming  back  to  life  in  the  streets 
at  sunset  which  is  such  a  feature  in  the  non-Moham- 
medan countries  of  the  South.  All  life  is  behind  walls 
there. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

BAZARS— III 

AN    OLD    QUARTER    OF    THE    CITY — HAMMAMS CARAVAN- 
SERAIS  THE   BAZAR    OF   THE    JEWELLERS 

On  another  day  we  went  to  the  bazar,  passing  through 
the  old  town.  It  was  spring-time :  we  had  been  riding 
outside  the  town,  with  Abd-Oullah,  my  servant,  galloping 
behind  us.  We  went  first  to  the  camp  of  the  Cossacks, 
which  is  ravishing  at  this  time  of  the  year  with  its  long, 
shady  avenues  intersected  with  streams  running  through 
grass  and  flowers,  where  during  the  heat  of  summer  the 
Cossacks  pitch  their  tents.  The  camp  is  in  a  sort  of 
oasis  in  the  middle  of  the  stony  desert  which  surrounds 
Teheran. 

Coming  back  from  there,  we  rode  along  the  fortifica- 
tions that  Nasr-ed-din  had  built  under  the  direction  of  a 
French  engineer,  in  imitation  of  those  of  Paris.  They 
are  simply  deep  moats,  whose  earth  is  piled  up  in  a  high 
rampart  on  the  inner  side.  These  would  not  be  very 
formidable  in  time  of  war,  and  could  easily  be  captured 
by  infantry.  But  in  time  of  peace  they  are  very  useful 
to  the  custom-house  officers  of  the  city,  for  they  compel 

837 


238      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

the  caravans  of  goods  to  pass  through  the  thirteen  gates, 
whose  pointed  arches  are  surmounted  by  the  slender 
minaret-Hke  spires  which  make  the  entrances  to  the  city 
of  the  Shah-in-Shah  so  imposing. 

One  must  add  that  the  smugglers  find  their  way  over 
these  ramparts  easily,  owing  to  their  tumble-down  condi- 
tion ;  in  some  places  a  whole  caravan  could  pass  them 
without  difficulty. 

After  we  had  been  round  the  ramparts,  we  entered  by 
one  of  the  southern  gates,  and  rode  through  the  narrow 
and  monotonous  streets  of  the  old  part  of  the  town.  The 
first  quarter  we  came  to  was  a  very  poor  one,  consisting 
of  very  low  houses  in  a  terribly  ruinous  condition. 
Ragged  little  boys  were  playing  in  the  conduit,  where, 
here  and  there,  miserable  women  with  hideous  and 
wrinkled  faces,  which  they  took  no  trouble  to  conceal, 
were  washing  unrecognisable  rags  ;  whilst  a  little  farther 
down  others  were  filling  their  drinking  vessels,  without 
troubling  to  think  about  the  washerwomen — the  Persians 
believe  that  running  water  cannot  be  polluted.  At  our 
approach,  crowds  of  children,  women,  and  old  men,  all  in 
rags,  and  one  with  a  deformed  leg,  another  with  a  de- 
formed arm,  surrounded  our  horses,  which  they  frightened 
by  their  cries  for  charity  and  their  brusque  gestures, 
catching  hold  of  our  bundles,  or  the  skirts  of  the  Mirza's 
robes,  in  sign  of  supplication.  The  only  means  of  getting 
rid  of  this  noisy  and  starving  crowd,  who  held  out  their 
emaciated  hands,  invoking  the  Imams,  and  even  His 
Highness  Issa  (Jesus),  in  my  honour,  was  to  throw  as 


BAZARS  239 

far  as  possible  all  the  coins  we  had.  They  flew  after 
them,  and  we  took  advantage  of  the  scrambling  on  the 
ground  and  quarrelling  of  the  crowd  to  spur  our  horses 
and  gallop  off. 

But  we  could  not  gallop  in  the  narrow  Persian  streets 
with  impunity.  Swarms  of  dogs,  which  we  roused  from  their 
perpetual  siesta  (for  the  dogs  in  these  poor  quarters  often 
have  to  fall  back  on  the  proverb,  "Who  sleeps  dines"), 
sprang  barking  at  our  horses'  heads  and  snapped  at  their 
legs.  My  horse  reared,  and  nearly  fell  on  me  backwards ; 
and  the  Mirza's  horse  had  his  hind  legs  bitten  badly,  and 
began  to  kick  so  hard  that  the  poor  Mirza  was  thrown ; 
and  as  he  was  not  at  all  a  good  horseman,  it  was  im- 
possible for  me  to  persuade  him  to  mount  the  nervous 
animal  again.  We  had  to  give  our  horses  to  Abdoullah, 
telling  him  to  lead  them  home,  and  continue  our  promenade 
on  foot. 

The  streets  were  nearly  deserted,  for  at  that  time  of 
the  day  everybody  is  in  the  bazars.  Occasionally  we 
passed  a  few  black  phantoms,  but  mostly  blue  phantoms, 
for  the  women  of  the  lower  classes  wear  blue  chaders.  A 
fierce  sun  was  beating  down  on  the  interminable  succession 
of  mud  walls,  and  this  trudge  through  streets  neither 
levelled  nor  paved,  with  loose  stones  scattered  about  them, 
was  very  tiring. 

In  the  middle  of  the  street,  about  every  hundred 
paces,  there  are  square  holes,  which  allow  the  inhabitants 
to  draw  the  water  from  the  conduit  (called  a  kanat) 
which  runs  under  the  street.     There  are  no  fountains 


240      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

with  spouts  in  Teheran ;  the  inhabitants  have  to  rely 
on  these  holes  for  the  supply  of  water,  which  is  nothing 
but  melted  snow  brought  down  by  underground  kanats 
from  the  mountains.  These  kanats  are  the  property  of 
private  individuals,  who  appoint  turncocks  to  turn  the 
water  of  the  kanat  into  this  or  the  other  house  or 
garden,  and  collect  the  money,  water  being  very  valu- 
able in  this  dry  country.  The  head  of  each  system  of 
conduits  is  an  important  personage,  with  the  grand  title 
of  Amir-ab,  which  means  Prince  of  the  Waters.  He 
settles  the  disputes  that  often  arise  about  the  quantity 
of  water  which  has  or  has  not  been  supplied  to  such 
and  such  a  person,  and  in  summer-time  he  is  the  busiest 
man  in  town.  These  disputes  become  so  acrimonious 
on  account  of  the  scarcity  and  costliness  of  water,  that 
men  are  sometimes  killed  in  them. 

In  some  streets  the  kanats  do  not  run  under  the 
ground,  but  it  is  sure  not  to  be  very  long  before  they 
become  subterranean.  The  holes  mentioned  above 
oblige  foot-passengers  to  look  on  the  ground ;  for  if 
they  are  inattentive  and  watching  the  evolutions  of  the 
birds  of  prey  swooping  from  the  sky,  or  cats  running 
on  the  terraces,  they  will  suddenly  fall  in.  During  the 
night  people  have  to  double  their  precautions  about 
holes.  But  then  people  seldom  go  out  at  night  in  these 
quarters,  except  during  the  month  of  Ramadan,  and 
never  without  a  fanous  (lantern). 

At  the  corner  of  a  street,  on  a  little  square,  in  the 
middle    of  which  an    elm   of  the  spreading  leafy  type 


BAZARS  241 

usual  in  Persia  gave  some  shadow,  was  a  kammam, 
easily  recognisable  by  the  lofty  arch  of  its  door,  over 
which  shone  an  inlaid  tile  picture  of  Rustem,  the 
Persian  hero,  trampling  on  the  White  Div  (Devil). 
Upon  the  roof,  drying  upon  clothes-lines  fastened  to 
movable  posts,  were  the  huge  yellow  and  red  striped 
cloths  in  which  the  bathers  wrap  themselves,  and  blue 
and  white  towels,  flapping  in  the  wind  like  the  flags  of 
a  regatta.  Under  the  arch  of  the  door  were  seated  the 
barber,  and  the  pipelighter  of  the  kammam,  and  a  few 
shampooers,  naked  to  the  loins,  except  for  their  bathing 
wrappers,  and  bareheaded — all  the  central  part  of  the 
head  being  shaved,  leaving  only  two  long  locks  which 
fall  behind  the  ears.  Under  the  shade  of  the  elm  tree 
two  of  the  shampooers  were  killing  time  by  wrestling, 
which  is  their  favourite  pastime  while  they  are  waiting 
for  customers. 

Only  the  Mussulmans  of  the  Shiite  sect  are  allowed 
to  enter  these  baths.  For  all  human  beings  belonging  to 
other  sects,  including  even  the  Sunnite  Mohammedans, 
are  impure ;  and  since  their  impurity  becomes  double 
when  they  are  wet,  the  kammam  is  the  last  place  to 
which  they  would  be  admitted. 

When  Europeans  want  to  try  the  charms  of  the 
vapour  baths,  they  are  bound  to  go  to  the  Armenian 
kammams.  There  are  two  or  three  of  them,  very 
clean,  in  the  new  quarter. 

Continuing  our  walk  we  arrived  at  the  bazar,  and 

went  to  the  caravanserai  of  Hajeb-ed-Dowleh.      It  is 
i6 


242      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

a  huge  square  courtyard,  surrounded  by  two-storeyed 
arcaded  buildings,  with  a  tank  in  the  middle  shaded  by 
numerous  trees.  In  it  are  stored  all  the  goods  that  the 
caravans  bring  to  the  wholesale  merchants  before  they 
are  distributed  to  the  retail  traders.  This  one  was 
built  by  Nasr-ed-din  Shah.  The  chief  wares  stored  here 
are  glass,  crockery,  lamps,  and  lustre  candlesticks  from 
Russia  and  from  Baccarat  in  France.  Baccarat  is  as 
well  known  in  its  way  as  Sevres,  though  the  fame  of 
the  town  has  been  eclipsed  by  the  famous  gambling 
game.  Other  wares  to  be  found  there  are  cotton  goods 
from  Manchester,  of  which  there  is  an  enormous  con- 
sumption all  through  Persia.  The  Persian  cotton  fabrics 
are  imitated  so  well  in  Manchester,  that  they  are  sold 
for  Persian  in  the  markets  of  Persia.  There  is  generally 
a  contract  that  certain  patterns,  called  Kalcmkar  (printed 
cottons),  should  not  be  sold  to  anyone  but  the  wholesale 
houses  in  Persia  who  have  ordered  them.  They  may 
occasionally  be  found  in  Europe,  but  they  have  always 
made  the  journey  to  Persia  first.  Russia  is  now  export- 
ing cotton  goods  in  considerable  quantities  to  the  north 
of  Persia,  and  Teheran  is  the  borderland  where  the  two 
empires  meet. 

The  cloths  of  Europe  are  also  to  be  found  in  this 
caravanserai.  They  are  principally  manufactured  in 
Austria.  They  are  not  as  expensive  as  the  good 
English  cloths,  and  have  colours  more  to  the  Persian 
taste. 

Some  important  merchants  have  their  offices  in  the 


i) 
B 

'J 

V 

n 

es 


a. 


3 
U 

o 


BAZARS  243 

caravanserai  of  Hajeb-ed-Dowleh.  They  supervise  the 
unloading  of  caravans ;  and  the  courtyard  is  then  a 
medley  of  camels,  of  piled-up  bales  of  goods,  and  large 
transactions.  There  is  a  bank  in  the  building.  The 
stables  are  not  there,  because  if  there  were  animals 
there  would  have  to  be  men  to  look  after  them,  and 
the  bazars  are  hermetically  closed  at  night.  Nobody 
is  allowed  to  enter  them.  The  animals  are  kept  in 
caravanserais  outside  the  bazar. 

The  ground  floor  of  the  caravanserai  is  occupied  by 
warehouses,  a  few  of  which  have  recently  been  trans- 
formed into  shops.  The  offices  are  on  the  upper 
floor. 

From  this  caravanserai  we  walked  to  the  Post  Office, 
for  it  was  the  day  of  the  arrival  of  the  mail,  which  comes 
twice  a  week,  once  by  way  of  the  Caspian,  and  once  by 
way  of  Tabriz.  These  are  the  only  mail  routes  from 
Europe.  The  mails  are  brought  by  horsemen  in  huge 
black  leather  sacks,  slung  behind  the  saddle,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  horse.  The  mail  service  in  my  time 
was  pretty  secure,  and  if  letters  were  not  registered  they 
were  sure  to  reach  their  destination,  in  the  rare  cases  in 
which  the  mail  was  robbed ;  for  the  robbers  kept  only 
the  registered  letters,  and  threw  all  the  others  on  the 
side  of  the  road,  where  they  could  be  found  by  the 
rescue  party.  However,  the  mail  is  generally  attacked 
once  or  twice  every  year.  It  has  been  found  out  that 
the  people  who  rob  it  are  those  who  send  money  by  it. 
They  arrange  for  it  to  be  stolen,  and  as  they  have  in- 


244      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

sured  it,  the  Post  Office  has  to  pay  up  the  amount.  It 
is  as  simple  as  arson,  but  the  results  are  not  always 
favourable,  because  now  the  Government  begins  by 
arresting  the  man  who  comes  to  ask  for  the  money. 
There  are  no  foreign  Post  Offices  in  Persia,  like  those 
of  Turkey,  but  the  Post  Office  is  managed  on  European 
lines  by  a  German. 

We  got  there  before  the  arrival  of  the  mail.  The 
office  was  full  of  the  servants  of  the  Legations,  who  had 
come  to  fetch  the  mails  of  their  masters. 

A  letter  addressed  to  a  person  in  Teheran  cannot  be 
posted  in  Teheran.  The  post  is  only  for  the  country 
and  abroad  ;  letters  in  the  city  are  delivered  by  servants. 
When  a  European  wants  to  send  a  letter  to  the  Post 
Office,  he  always  has  it  registered,  because  the  Persian 
servants  are  such  thieves  that  if  he  gave  the  money 
to  them  they  would  keep  it,  and  if  he  put  stamps  on 
they  would  take  them  off  and  throw  the  letter  away, 
while  for  registered  letters  they  have  to  bring  back  a 
receipt. 

When  you  send  a  note  by  a  servant,  the  recipient 
signs  for  it  on  the  envelope,  which  is  brought  back  to 
you.     This  is  the  Persian  form  of  the  chit  system. 

Some  form  of  Post  Office  has  long  existed  in  Persia, 
and  in  the  old  time  it  was  very  well  organised,  under  the 
name  of  Berid  and  Oskondar. 

The  Telegraph  service  also  had  an  ancient  equivalent 
in  the  carrier  pigeon  post. 

In  winter  time  the  mails  are  irregular.     They  then 


BAZARS  245 

generally  take  twenty-five  days  from  London,  though  in 
summer  they  are  delivered  in  fourteen  to  sixteen  days. 
You  receive  the  London  papers  in  that  time. 

The  most  original  method  of  insurance  of  which  I 
ever  heard  was  brought  to  my  notice  one  day  in  the 
caravanserai  Amir.  I  was  talking  with  a  merchant 
while  camels  loaded  with  dates  pressed  into  goat-skins 
were  having  their  packs  taken  off.  As  the  merchant  was 
a  banker,  I  looked  astonished,  and  asked,  "  Why,  are  you 
selling  dates  now  ?  "  He  laughed,  and  nodded,  and  had 
them  taken  up  to  his  room.  There  they  were  cut  open, 
and  the  middle  of  each  was  found  to  be  filled  with  silver 
bars.  He  added,  "  This  is  the  way  that  a  client  of  mine, 
an  old-fashioned  merchant  of  Kurdistan,  who  does  not 
believe  in  banks,  insists  upon  insuring  the  payments 
which  he  has  to  send  me." 

When  we  left  the  Post  we  went  to  the  Bazar  of  the 
Gold  Workers  and  Jewellers.  It  has  an  air  of  solemnity 
which  reminds  one  of  the  Bazar  of  the  Booksellers.  Its 
brick  vaults  are  dark,  and  the  glass  show-cases  standing 
on  the  tables  or  on  the  ground  do  not  present  the 
glittering  spectacle  that  one  would  expect  in  the  Land 
of  Jewels.  The  reason  is  that  in  his  cleverness  the 
Persian  jeweller  exhibits  to  the  eye  of  the  passer-by  only 
just  enough  to  make  him  stop.  Then,  inviting  him  in, 
if  he  thinks  he  will  be  a  good  client,  he  shows  him  his 
finest  pieces. 

We    examined   the   cases.     Here   were    some    pale 
turquoises  of  little  value,  mounted  in  silver  or  tin  rings ; 


246      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

there  were  the  cheap  jewels  worn  by  the  women  of  the 
nomad  tribes — khalkhal  (anklets)  of  brass,  khalkhal  of 
silver,  and  bracelets  of  little  blue  stones  strung  together 
like  beads.  I  was  bargaining  for  one  of  those  little  gold 
roses  of  erratic  form  worn  in  the  left  nostril  by  women 
of  the  tribes  of  Arabistan,  when  I  was  jostled  by  a  huge 
black  eunuch,  with  an  emaciated  face  and  a  long  thin 
neck,  who  was  clearing  the  way  for  a  black  phantom — 
his  mistress — who  glided  rapidly  into  the  shop,  followed 
by  other  phantoms. 

That  was  enough  to  give  me  a  desire  to  watch  the 
lady,  and  contrive  to  see  her  making  her  purchases,  in 
the  hope  that  in  her  excitement  she  would  uncover  her 
face.     Without  doubt  she  was,  if  not  actually  a  princess, 
the  wife  of  some  grandee,  for  only  the  most  important 
people  have  black  eunuchs.     Directly  she  came  in,  the 
merchant  left  me  to  give  her  his  attention,  and  his  place 
was  taken  by  one   of  his  assistants.     The  erratic   gold 
roses  had  lost  all  their  interest  in  my  eyes.     It  was  the 
mysterious    roses    concealed    behind    the    lace    of    the 
princess's  rouhband  that  chained  all  my  attention.     Her 
passage  had  left  a  train  of  the  intoxicating  perfume  of 
tuberoses.     It  gave  quite  an  atmosphere  of  spring,  which 
made  me  tingle,  and  this  was  so  apparent  that  the  Mirza 
became  uneasy.     The  merchant  would  have  liked  me  to 
go  away,  that  was  evident.     But  all  this  only  increased 
my  desire  to  stay,  and,  putting  aside  the  gold  roses,  I 
said  I  was  looking  for  very  beautiful  turquoises  to  send 
to  Europe.     This  mollified  the  merchant;  he  begged  me 


BAZARS  247 

to  wait  a  little,  for  he  was  just  going  to  show  his  best 
turquoises  to  the  Khartoum  (lady). 

I  assumed  an  indifferent  air,  and  looked  at  the 
passers-by.  Then,  to  escape  the  inquisitive  looks  of  that 
terrible  eunuch,  I  shrank  behind  the  Mirza,  who,  with  a 
prudence  natural  to  a  Persian,  was  turning  his  back  to 
the  phantoms. 

I  engaged  him  in  a  conversation  on  the  poets,  his 
favourite  subject,  and  he  began  to  talk  with  such  an 
interest  and  volubility  that  even  the  eunuch  was  re- 
assured. But  I  did  not  hear  a  word  he  was  saying,  all 
my  attention  was  taken  up  with  what  was  going  on  in 
the  back  of  the  shop.  I  examined  with  a  furtive  eye, 
over  the  Mirza's  shoulder,  the  black  phantom,  who  was 
just  sitting  on  a  carpet  specially  spread  on  the  ground 
for  her.  Her  suite  of  phantoms  remained  standing 
round  her.  But  my  luck  did  not  desert  me,  for  between 
two  of  the  dark  chaders  I  could  watch  "  my  princess " 
without  anybody  noticing  it. 

As  soon  as  she  had  seated  herself,  tea  was  brought 
to  her.  She  took  the  cup  with  a  small  hand,  gloved  in 
green  silk,  and  with  the  other,  to  my  stupefaction  and 
joy,  she  lifted  a  corner  of  her  rouhband  till  I  could 
perceive,  in  the  frame  of  the  dark  silk  chader,  the  most 
exquisite  face  that  one  could  imagine.  The  pure  oval 
of  her  face,  the  fairness  of  her  skin,  with  the  blood  in 
her  cheeks  accentuated  by  rouge,  made  me  understand 
the  truth  of  the  Oriental  poets'  phrase  when  they  compare 
a  beautiful  face  to  a  moon,  and  by  chance  the  Mirza 


248      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

was  reciting  at  this  very  moment  the  verse  :  "  And  she 
discovered  her  face  :  it  was  the  moon  at  the  fourteenth 
night  in  the  envelopment  of  clouds  chased  by  the  wind." 

I  was  startled.  It  was  just  the  picture  that  I  had 
before  my  eyes.  I  barely  had  time  to  see  her  long, 
almond-shaped  eyes  before  the  rouhband  fell  down  again. 
The  merchant  began  by  taking  out  of  little  bags  a  few 
second-rate  stones,  to  which  she  did  not  pay  much 
attention.  Then  he  opened  heavy  coffers  of  cedarwood, 
with  stout  iron  bands  and  huge,  mysterious  locks.  And, 
little  by  little,  with  a  hundred  precautions,  accompanied 
by  a  hundred  little  discourses,  he  laid  before  her  coveting 
eyes  a  hundred  temptations,  each  greater  than  the  last, 
in  a  slow  and  cunning  graduation. 

He  took  great  care  not  to  show  her  at  once  his 
turquoises.  He  began  by  amethysts  of  Mekram ;  then 
he  brought  out  twisted  strings  of  seed  pearls ;  then 
a  gold  bracelet,  covered  with  enamels  representing 
embracing  lovers,  birds,  and  flowers.  After  this  came 
clasps  of  emeralds  to  hold  the  chargat  under  the 
chin.  Then  came  jikas,  flashing  with  diamonds,  sur- 
mounted by  aigrettes,  some  of  feathers,  some  of  gold, 
thickly  set  with  gems.  The  interest  of  "  my  princess  " 
seemed  to  advance.  She  sniffed  from  time  to  time  a 
little  bouquet  of  jasmine,  but  when  the  merchant 
presented  to  her  the  superb  turquoises  of  Nishapur,  of 
a  dark  and  brilliant  azure  flashing  like  blue  eyes,  she 
grew  excited,  and  lifted  her  rouhband  a  little  in  order  to 
examine  them  more  closely,  not  at  all  particular  about 


BAZARS  249 

showing  her  face  to  the  old  merchant,  who  to  astonish 
her  had  just  been  laying  out  in  front  of  her,  on  a  piece 
of  black  velvet,  huge  pearls  from  the  Baharein — the 
islands  in  the  Persian  Gulf  from  which  the  finest  pearls 
of  the  Orient  come — and  huge,  uncut  rubies  and  sapphires 
which  he  said  were  from  Golconda. 

Little  by  little  I  had  edged  the  Mirza  forward.  He 
was  so  absorbed  in  his  poetical  recitations  that  he  did 
not  notice  it,  and  so  I  was  getting  quite  close  to  the 
KJianoum,  when  the  eunuch,  whom  I  had  forgotten, 
began  to  exhibit  signs  of  nervousness.  The  Mirza 
whispered  in  my  ear,  "We  had  better  go  if  we  want 
to  avoid  trouble,  for  I  see  the  eunuch  looking  at  us  with 
sinister  eyes." 

I  did  remark  the  heavy  eyes  with  their  bloodshot 
whites  of  the  great  negro  in  the  black  frock-coat  with 
gathered  skirts,  and  the  wrinkles  of  his  face,  which 
paleness  under  the  black  made  greenish.  His  hanging 
under-lip  was  trembling  with  rage  and  uneasiness.  He 
stepped  towards  the  Mirza  and  whispered  a  few  words 
in  his  ear.  The  Mirza  became  very  agitated,  and 
turned  towards  me  eyes  in  which  I  saw  such  fright 
and  supplication  that  I  understood  the  gravity  of  the 
situation,  and  followed  him  out  of  the  shop  without 
a  word. 

Two  dismounted  horsemen,  armed  to  the  teeth,  part 
of  the  lady's  escort,  were  waiting  at  the  door — I  had 
not  noticed  them  before. 

At  the  same  moment  my  princess  got  up.     She  had 


250      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

not  made  up  her  mind  about  her  purchases.  It  is  not 
usual  in  the  East  to  settle  anything  all  at  once.  As  she 
passed  me  her  little  jasmine  bouquet  fell  at  my  feet. 
The  phantoms  swept  on,  and  when  I  had  picked  up 
the  jasmine,  unnoticed  by  the  bowing  jewellers,  I 
watched  these  dark  clouds,  which  concealed  "a  moon 
at  its  fourteenth  night,"  slowly  melting  in  the  distance. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

BAZARS— IV 

THE  CARPET  BAZAR 

The  bazar  into  which  one  goes  oftenest  in  Persia  is 
the  Bazar  of  Carpets.  This  suggests  much  to  the 
European  mind,  which  at  once  thinks  of  a  vast  display 
of  rich  hangings  and  gorgeous  colours.  In  Persia 
one  sees  nothing  of  the  kind.  The  carpets  are  all  piled 
up,  one  over  the  other,  and  when  you  want  to  buy  a 
carpet  the  men  of  the  shop  pull  them  out  one  after 
the  other  in  front  of  you,  and  build  them  into  fresh 
piles  on  the  opposite  side.  It  is  very  difficult  to  make 
up  your  mind,  for  you  never  see  more  than  two  dis- 
played at  the  same  time.  It  takes  a  very  long  time ; 
for,  carrying  in  your  head  as  well  as  you  can  the 
remembrance  of  those  you  like  best,  you  are  always 
having  another  one  pulled  out,  and  before  you  manage 
to  get  the  three  or  four  you  really  like  best  all 
shown  at  the  same  time,  several  hours  will  have  gone, 
and  pounds  of  dust,  coming  from  all  parts  of  Persia, 
will  have  been  swallowed.  However,  you  need  not 
regret   the   time   expended,    so   many   precious    articles 

251 


252      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

will  have  been  exhibited  before  you,  each  more  beautiful 
than  the  other. 

The  first  carpet  that  struck  me  was  one  from 
Kerman,  woven  with  extraordinary  fineness.  Its  pattern 
represented  a  tree  on  which  parrots  in  great  profusion 
and  every  attitude  ate  extraordinary  fruits.  Under  that 
tree,  which  took  up  nearly  all  the  carpet,  were  some 
very  small  gazelles,  a  quarter  of  the  size  of  the  parrots, 
and  round  it  was  a  very  delicately  drawn  border.  The 
next  carpet  was  from  Turkestan.  On  a  background 
of  Venetian  red,  dark  blue  geometrical  drawings  were 
repeated  at  regular  intervals.  But  this  one,  which  was 
made  of  very  good  material,  had  a  hideous  design.  It 
was  a  bad  copy  of  the  Early  Victorian  carpet,  represent- 
ing a  tiger  eating  an  apple  under  a  rosebush.  Then 
the  merchant  brought  out  a  beautiful  dark  blue  carpet, 
decorated  with  narcissi,  tulips,  and  hyacinths,  white, 
red,  yellow,  and  green,  of  a  pre-Raphaelite  pattern, 
which  came  from  Kurdistan.  It  was  an  old  one,  they 
are  not  made  any  more. 

Direcdy  after  this  he  showed  me  a  carpet  with 
a  regular  pattern  of  henna  flowers,  which  was  the 
modern  representative  of  the  same  school.  The  next, 
of  the  same  pattern,  but  with  very  crude  colours, 
showed  that  in  spite  of  the  new  laws  forbidding 
aniline  colours,  these  chemical  dyes  are  spoiling  the 
manufacture  of  modern  carpets.  Happily  this  was  the 
exception,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  laws  by 
which  aniline  dyes  have  recently  been  prohibited  from 


BAZARS  253 

entering     Persia     will     be     enforced    with     Draconian 
severity. 

After  many  notable  examples  from  Feraghan, 
Khorassan,  Turkestan,  Khoi,  and  Daghestan,  I  was 
shown  one  very  curious  carpet,  with  a  white  back- 
ground, on  which  was  drawn  with  black  lines  an 
Assyrian  king  with  wings,  copied  from  the  bas-reliefs 
of  Persepolis.  His  name,  Nebuchadnezzar,  was  written 
under  it  in  Roman  letters.  I  regretted  to  see  such 
good  work  and  such  fine  materials  wasted  on  such  a 
miracle  of  bad  taste.  It  was  executed  in  one  of  the 
best  workshops  of  Kerman. 

Silk  carpets  are  very  much  appreciated  in  Persia. 
They  are  generally  of  the  type  of  prayer  carpets,  re- 
presenting two  columns,  a  vault,  and  in  the  middle  a 
mosque  lamp  hanging  down.  Another  usual  pattern 
for  the  silk  carpets  is  a  vase  of  flowers  with  birds. 
The  Persian  weavers  receive  orders,  especially  from 
Cairo,  for  very  large  silk  carpets. 

The  wily  Persian  has  discovered  the  secret  of  making 
new  carpets  look  ancient.  He  smokes  them  over  a 
fire  made  with  special  herbs,  and  this  gives  the  carpet 
a  used  appearance  and  fades  the  colours.  It  is  nearly 
impossible,  when  this  is  well  done,  to  distinguish  between 
a  genuine  antique  and  a  forgery. 

A  commoner  way  of  ageing  a  carpet  (very  common 
in  the  bazars)  is  to  spread  it  out  on  the  street,  in 
order  that  every  passer-by  and  animal  may  trample 
on  it. 


254       QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

In  Tabriz,  an  Englishman,  Mr.  Stevens,  conceived 
the  happy  idea  of  starting  a  carpet-weaving  industry, 
where  only  old  patterns  are  made.  He  tries  to  revive 
the  old  traditions,  and  has  succeeded  very  well.  I 
went  to  see  his  workrooms  in  the  bazars.  They 
were  established  in  a  large  sort  of  shed  with  mud 
walls  and  roof,  lighted  by  mere  holes  of  windows  and 
skylights.  The  weaving  was  done  on  old-fashioned 
hand-looms,  some  of  them  eight  or  ten  feet  high. 
Litde  boys  of  ten  to  twelve  were  perched  on  planks 
in  front  of  the  looms ;  a  man,  holding  in  his  hand 
the  pattern  of  the  carpet  with  all  the  colours  marked 
in  squares,  like  our  Berlin  woolwork  patterns,  sang 
to  a  popular  tune  the  number  and  the  colour  of  each 
thread  —  one  blue,  two  red,  one  yellow,  etc.  —  which 
was  repeated  in  chorus  by  all  the  little  boys,  and  ac- 
companied by  the  noise  of  the  bobbins  which  go  through 
the  warp  threads,  and  the  rhythmical  swish  with  which 
the  boys  cut  the  thread  after  making  the  little 
knots. 

These  little  apprentices,  dressed  in  a  variety  of 
colours,  perched  on  their  planks  and  singing  at  the 
tops  of  their  voices,  were  like  love-birds  sitting  on  a 
branch. 

Interesting  as  it  all  was,  the  Mirza  and  I  were 
tired  out  before  we  made  our  escape,  and  nearly 
smothered  by  the  dust  we  had  to  swallow.  Orientals 
have  no  notion  of  terminating.  Besides,  I  could  feel 
in  my  pocket  that  little  jasmine  bouquet  I  had  picked 


c 
be 


C8 

■f 

a 


BAZARS  255 

up  the  day  before,  and  I  was  burning  to  get  to  the 
Bazar  of  the  Jewellers.  But  I  did  not  want  to  tell 
the  Mirza  my  intention,  so  I  pretended  that  I  wished 
to  go  to  the  Bazar  of  Arms  and  Antiquities,  which 
is  next  to  it. 

Then,  as  we  passed  the  Bazar  of  the  Jewellers,  I 
mentioned,  in  an  off-hand  way,  that  the  little  incident 
of  yesterday  had  prevented  my  seeing  the  turquoises, 
and  suggested  that  we  should  go  in  and  look  at  them 
now. 

On  entering  the  shop,  my  heart  beat  a  little  faster 
when  I  noticed,  sitting  in  the  very  same  place,  several 
phantoms.  But  to-day  there  was  no  eunuch,  no  armed 
horsemen  outside.  Surely  it  could  not  be  "my 
princess  " ! 

"Show  me  those  turquoises!"  I  cried  to  the 
merchant,  in  a  brusque  and  offended  sort  of  way,  for 
I  felt  a  little  disappointed  and  nervous.  At  the  noise 
of  my  voice  the  phantoms  turned  towards  me,  but 
the  rouhbands  remained  impenetrable.  The  turquoises 
were  brought  by  an  assistant,  and  whilst  I  was  examining 
them  I  noticed  that  the  seated  Khanoum  turned  her 
head  my  way  very  often.  I  glanced  at  her  inquisitively, 
and  took  the  jasmine  from  my  pocket.  She  found  that 
her  rouhband  required  arranging,  and  in  the  process 
managed  to  slip  aside  just  enough  to  let  me  recognise 
"my  princess"  of  yesterday,  smiling  engagingly.  But 
the  rouhband  fell  very  quickly,  for  at  that  moment  the 
repulsive  visage  of  the  eunuch  darkened  the  doorway. 


256      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

She  got  up  and  left  the  shop  before  I  had  time  to 
think  of  anything.  And  I  forgot  all  about  the 
turquoises,  and  went  off  without  saying  a  word  to 
the  astonished  jeweller. 

It  was  now  sunset — the  Muezzin  was  summoning 
the  faithful  to  prayer ;  the  bazars  emptied  rapidly,  for 
it  was  time  for  the  gates  to  be  locked  for  the  night. 
The  gates  are  very  massive,  and  have  such  huge  locks 
that  they  are  quite  a  strain  on  the  strength  of  the 
gatekeeper.  There  is  a  Sar-ghas77ick,  or  watchman,  at 
the  head  of  each  alley,  to  look  after  the  security  of 
the  goods. 

When  they  catch  a  thief  they  take  him  direct  to 
the  Shahshan  Bazar,  where  there  is  a  special  prison, 
in  which  also  any  merchant  who  has  been  caught 
cheating  is  brought  before  a  judge.  The  cases  are 
tried  instantly,  and  the  punishment  is  carried  out  on 
the  spot.  It  may  be  bastinado  on  the  soles  of  the 
feet,  or,  in  the  case  of  a  merchant  caught  cheating 
with  weights  or  selling  adulterated  things,  he  may  be 
nailed  by  the  ear  to  the  doorpost  of  his  shop,  so  that 
all  his  customers  may  enjoy  his  shame.  Or  he  may 
have  a  ring  put  through  his  nose  and  be  led  through 
the  bazar  by  a  string.  There  is  also  a  post  like  our 
old-fashioned  pillory  to  which  he  may  be  nailed  or 
bound. 

The  inspectors  of  weights  and  measures  adopt  all 
sorts  of  disguises  and  expedients  to  carry  on  their 
business   without    being    recognised.     They   even    dress 


A  Persian  Tradesman. 


BAZARS  257 

up  as  old  women,  who  are  of  all  human  beings  the 
most  likely  to  be  cheated.  Suddenly  from  the  rouhband 
appears  a  beard,  and  the  unfortunate  transgressor  is 
apprehended  hy  fei'raskes,  running  up  at  the  inspector's 
signal,  and  taken  to  the  bastinado. 


17 


CHAPTER   XXVII 
BAZARS— V 

THE  BAZAR  OF  STUFFS  :  THE  BAZAR  OF  ARMS  AND 
ANTIQUES  :  THE  BAZAR  OF  GRAIN  AND  FLOUR  AND 
GROCERIES  :    THE    SHAH    IN    THE    BAZAR 

One  day  when  we  were  passing  in  front  of  Shems-el- 
Emaret,  one  of  the  palaces  of  the  Shah,  we  saw  the 
famous  Persian  wrestlers.  This  is  a  much-patronised 
profession.  The  wrestlers  use  dumb-bells  shaped  like 
big  bottles,  and  do  gymnastics  as  well  as  wrestle, 
naked  except  for  their  running  drawers.  The  people 
make  a  ring  round  them,  and  the  women  of  the  Shah's 
harem  watch  them  from  behind  green  tile  Mousharabiehs 
in  the  towers  of  the  Shems-el-Emaret.  After  having 
watched  for  a  moment  this  wrestling  of  the  Pahlavans, 
we  entered  the  bazar. 

On  the  left  are  to  be  found  the  stalls  of  the  seal- 
cutters.  They  are  very  much  frequented,  for  seals 
are  constantly  used  in  Persia  by  everybody.  The 
seal  takes  the  place  occupied  by  the  signature  in 
Europe,  and  as  there  are  so  many  people  in  Persia 
who  cannot  write,  it  is  a  great  convenience.     I  entered 

253 


BAZARS  259 

a  shop,  and  chose  a  little  round  silver  seal,  a  small 
pyramidal  affair,  with  a  turquoise  let  into  the  side 
which  is  to  come  uppermost  on  the  letter.  This  is 
to  avoid  a  waste  of  time,  as  the  characters  are  mixed 
together  in  elegant  curves,  and  the  empty  places  between 
them  are  filled  with  little  flowers  and  designs. 

From  there  we  walked  to  the  Bazar  of  Stuffs.  On 
our  way  we  were  stopped  by  a  band  of  loutis — the 
street  arabs  of  Teheran,  who  asked  us  to  see  a  per- 
formance of  monkeys.  Like  the  lazzaroni  of  Naples, 
they  spend  the  greatest  part  of  their  time  in  lying 
about  in  the  sun,  and  the  rest  in  doing  mischief. 
They  gamble,  they  rob,  they  kill — sometimes  for  hire, 
since  for  them  any  way  of  making  money  is  good,  so 
long  as  they  make  enough  to  buy  the  forbidden  arrack 
and  to  lose  at  their  gambling.  They  are  also  jugglers ; 
they  have  monkeys  and  bears,  and  sometimes  panthers 
and  even  lions  tamed,  which  they  lead  about  the  streets 
with  a  string.  Their  life  of  adventure  and  of  constant 
struggle  makes  them  great  characters.  Some,  in  order 
to  show  their  daring,  attack  and  rob  passers-by  in  broad 
daylight ;  and  some,  in  certain  towns  of  the  north  of 
Persia,  have  established  a  reign  of  terror.  The  police 
keep  an  eye  upon  them.  But  sometimes  it  is  a  sym- 
pathetic eye,  if  the  louti  share  with  them  their  plunder. 

We  entered  the  Bazar  of  Stuffs  just  at  the  busiest 
moment.  It  was  crowded  with  "phantoms."  We 
stopped  at  a  shop  whose  owner  looked  more  than 
usually    prepossessing.       With     profound    salaams    he 


260      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

invited  us  to  enter  his  shop.  Tea  was  brouc^ht,  and 
all  sorts  of  precious  stuffs  were  taken  out  of  cup- 
boards. The  merchant  first  produced  gotildo2izis  of 
Resht :  stuffs  embroidered  with  flowers  and  all  manner 
of  designs.  Then  he  brought  out  velvets  of  Kachan 
something  like  Genoa  velvets,  embroideries  of  Ispahan 
and  of  Bokhara — which  last  have  generally  a  pattern 
of  green  leaves  with  round  red  flowers — tissues  of  silk 
embroidered  with  gold  palms,  made  by  the  Parsee 
women,  called  Gabr  (our  Gebir)  in  Persia. 

I  bargained  for  a  delicate  muslin  of  Kerman,  spangled 
with  orold  embroideries.  But  the  man  asked  a  ridiculous 
price,  and  refused  to  come  down  from  it.  The  reason 
he  gave  was  that  it  had  been  worked  specially  for  the 
wedding  of  the  daughter  of  Nasr-ed-din  Shah  and 
Zehir-ed-Dowleh,  upon  which  I  thought  it  was  best 
to  go  no  further,  for  some  day  he  would  forget  what 
he  had  told  me,  and  tell  me  something  else,  and  then 
I  could  put  "  his  nose  in  his  dirt,"  as  they  say  in 
Persia. 

The  Persian  excels  all  other  Orientals  in  the  number 
of  times  which  he  multiplies  the  price  that  he  intends  to 
take.  It  is  a  safe  rule  not  to  pay  more  than  the  quarter 
of  what  he  asks.  In  Persia,  if,  from  a  misunderstanding 
of  the  price  named,  you  offer  the  merchant  more  than  he 
has  asked,  instead  of  taking  you  at  your  word  and  ac- 
cepting quickly  before  you  have  time  to  realise  your 
mistake,  he  will  double  or  treble  what  he  asked  first, 
and  will  rather  risk  not  selling  the  article  than  lose  the 


BAZARS  261 

chance   that   you   have   given   him    of    making   a   rare 
bargain. 

Then  I  looked  at  a  very  remarkable  old  embroidery 
of  blue  silk  on  a  background  of  cream  satin,  which  was  a 
good  deal  worn.  I  looked  at  it  only  with  a  corner  of 
my  eye,  in  order  not  to  show  the  merchant  that  I  was 
interested  in  it,  and,  taking  hold  of  a  rather  cheap  new 
embroidery,  I  asked  the  price,  which  of  course  he  in- 
stantly quadrupled.  I  offered  half  of  it,  if  he  would 
throw  something  else  in — for  example,  that  old  thing 
which  is  not  worth  three  shahis  (three  farthings).  He 
smiled  at  my  simplicity,  and  pushed  them  both  towards 
me.  He  had  done  me  on  the  one  thing  which  had 
no  value,  and  I  had  done  him  right  in  the  eye  on 
the  other,  which  I  discovered  afterwards  to  be  a  very 
valuable  fourteenth-century  embroidery.  Whilst  I  was 
leaving  his  shop,  I  heard  him  mumbling  the  Persian 
proverb  :  "  Hast  thou  a  jewel — take  it  to  the  jeweller  : 
take  care  not  to  offer  a  jewel  to  the  first  donkey  which 
passes — the  donkey  only  wants  thistles,  and  thou  offerest 
him  a  jewel.  To  the  donkey  one  thistle  is  better  than 
two  hundred  ass-loads  of  jewels." 

With  my  bargain  under  my  arm,  I  walked  away, 
followed  by  the  Mirza,  who  had  kept  discreetly  silent. 
He  could  not  understand  my  elation,  because,  like  most 
Persians,  he  did  not  know  the  difference  between  valuable 
old  things  and  old  rubbish.  In  Persia  old  things  i^Kadim) 
have  no  value  except  for  selling  to  Europeans.  The 
Persian  knows  that  Europeans  are  fond  of  old  things, 


262      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

and  one  day  will  bring  him  mere  rags,  and  another  day 
a  rare  mediaeval  curio.  Still  he  was  quite  sharp  enough 
to  see  that  I  had  a  bargain,  and  said,  "  You  are  lucky  ; 
every  time  you  pick  up  a  stone  it  becomes  gold." 

Then  we  suddenly  came  upon  a  most  beautiful  arch- 
way with  a  sort  of  apse  in  it,  filled  with  rich  pendentives 
of  marvellously  durable  white  stucco :  the  walls  below  . 
the  vault  had  glorious  old  turquoise-coloured  tiles — the 
upper  part  of  which  had  an  inscription  from  the  Koran 
in  white  characters  running  all  round  it  in  a  broad  belt ; 
and  the  under  part,  by  the  low,  arched  doorway,  was 
decorated  with  a  wonderful  design  of  a  pot  of  branching 
flowers.  Across  the  door  was  a  wooden  screen,  carried 
down  to  the  height  of  a  man,  like  the  door  of  a  loose  box, 
with  the  upper  part  closed.  Below  these  tiles  was  a 
stone  bench,  on  which  pious  people  were  seated,  waiting 
for  the  hour  of  prayer.  It  was  the  entrance  to  the 
Meder-i-Shah   Mosque. 

This  led  the  Mirza  to  look  at  his  watch.  The  dial 
was,  of  course,  marked  in  the  Oriental  way.  He  told  me 
that  he  used  to  wind  it  at  sunset,  and  that  as  the  days 
grew  longer  or  shorter  he  had  to  move  the  hands  every 
day.  This  is  to  indicate  the  times  of  prayer,  in  order 
that  on  the  days  without  sun  the  Persians  may  be  able  to 
know  the  time  of  Talou-aftab  (sunrise),  Zohr  (noon), 
Assr  (the  afternoon  hour),  and  Moghreb  (sunset),  which 
are  the  times  of  prayer.  The  fifth  prayer-time  is  in  the 
night,  the  A'cha. 

We  were  soon  at  the  Tea  and  Groceries  Bazar — tea 


Portal  of  the  Meder>i.5hah  Mosque. 


BAZARS  263 

being  the  favourite  drink  of  Persians,  is  sold  in  large 
quantities.  A  great  deal  of  it  comes  from  India  and 
China,  and  some  is  grown  in  the  Caucasus.  China  tea 
comes  through  Russia  by  caravans  along  the  great 
Russo- Mongolian  trade  route. 

It  was  to  buy  henna  that  I  visited  this  bazar  :  a  lady 
friend  of  mine  in  Europe  had  asked  me  to  send  her 
some  genuine  Persian  henna.  The  best  is  grown  near 
Kerman.  The  dried  leaves  of  this  plant  are  pounded  in 
a  mortar  till  they  are  reduced  to  a  powder.  This  powder 
is  steeped  in  hot  water  and  stirred  with  the  hand  till  it 
becomes  as  thick  as  soup,  and  is  then  applied  to  the  roots 
of  the  hair.  A  piece  of  paper  is  then  laid  on  the  head, 
over  which  a  cloth  is  tightly  bound.  The  Persians  keep 
this  on  all  the  night  long,  though  two  or  three  hours 
would  have  been  sufficient.  The  Persian  women  stain 
the  whole  of  their  hands  and  their  feet,  because  it  is  so 
good  for  the  skin.  The  men  only  dye  their  nails,  as  an 
ornament.  The  colour  that  the  henna  gives  to  the  skin 
or  the  hair  is  a  ruddy  brown,  and  to  dye  the  hair  or 
beard  black  they  use  after  the  henna  vesmeh  (indigo) 
prepared  in  the  same  way  as  the  henna.  Half  an  hour 
after  the  application  of  the  vesmeh  they  wash  the  hair 
with  pure  water,  which  leaves  it  a  fine  blue-black. 

These  dyes  are  not  at  all  injurious,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  preserve  the  hair  and  stimulate  its  growth, 
and  they  are  not  expensive,  because  each  dyeing  may 
last  six  weeks  or  two  months;  and  for  a  woman  who 
has  luxuriant  hair,  forty  miskals  of  henna — under  half  a 


2G4      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

pound,  which  costs  about  threepence — is  sufficient.     Add 
a  penny  for  the  vesmeh,  and  you  have  the  total  cost. 

In  that  bazar  also  are  sold  cosmetics  and  the  kohl 
for  the  eyes,  and  drugs  and  medicinal  herbs. 

There  we  found  also  the  kat,  which  is  a  low  shrub 
growing  in  Yemen  and  in  Abyssinia ;  the  green  leaves 
when  fresh  have  the  property  of  giving  insomnia  without 
causing  any  fatigue,  and  the  inhabitants  of  these  countries 
who  make  use  of  it,  instead  of  suffering  by  it  live  to  a 
great  age.  It  does  not  produce  much  effect  in  Persia, 
because  it  never  gets  there  till  all  the  leaves  are  dry. 
However,  it  is  used  during  the  Ramadan  to  enable 
the  partaker  to  keep  awake  during  the  night,  when  he 
may  eat  and  drink  and  smoke,  and  go  to  sleep  during 
the  day  while  he  has  to  fast. 

On  our  way  home  we  passed  through  the  Bazar  of 
Arms  and  Antiques,  which  is  one  of  the  most  fascinating 
to  the  European.     Although  it  has  been  said  that  all  the 
interesting  things  in  Persia  have  been  bought  up  and  ex- 
ported, it  is  possible  still  to  find  good  pieces  here.     There 
are,  for  instance,  old  scimitars,  with  their  hilts  encrusted 
with  turquoises  and  garnets,  whose  ivory  scabbards  are 
magnificently   carved,   battle-axes,    maces,   shields,   body 
armour,   and    helmets   of   steel,   damascened  with  gold. 
One   has,   however,   to  be   very  careful   about  the   last, 
because   there   is  a  brisk   manufacture   of   imitations    in 
Ispahan,  and  one  must  not  forget  the   Persian   saying, 
"Everything  that  is  round  is  not  a  nut,"  i.e.  "All  that 
glitters  is  not  gold." 


c 

1. 
u 

o 


3 


c 
< 


9 

£ 

o 


c 
o 


o 


o 

LU 


BAZARS  265 

In  this  bazar  I  bought  a  very  fine  inlaid  saddle,  with 
the  pummel  in  front  of  carved  ivory,  decorated  with 
little  stars  of  the  Persian  inlaying  called  Khatem. 

There  is  a  lot  of  fine  brassware,  such  as  ewers, 
mosque  lamps,  and  trays,  besides  the  little  things  which 
are  made  on  purpose  for  the  European  market,  like 
match-boxes  and  the  small  open-work  plates,  whose  use 
I  was  never  able  to  discover. 

A  little  farther  on  was  a  shop  where  they  sold 
porcelain ;  where  amongst  horrible  modern  Russian 
things,  which  had  no  other  title  to  be  Kadim  except 
their  battered  condition,  could  be  found  some  beautiful 
china  and  the  unique  tiles  of  rich  metallic  lustre  whose 
manufacture  is  a  lost  art.  These  fetch  a  very  high 
price  in  the  market  of  Teheran ;  a  piece  no  bigger  than 
a  prayer-book  may  be  worth  twenty  pounds.  Especially 
charming  were  the  tall  porcelain  flasks,  almost  the  shape 
of  an  Italian  wine-flask,  used  for  scent,  holding  a  pint 
or  less,  some  of  course  quite  tiny.  The  old  porcelain 
tea-caddies  which  you  may  find  in  this  bazar  are  almost 
unique.  They  are  shaped  like  our  old-fashioned  silver 
tea-caddies. 

But  the  strangest  discovery  that  I  made  was  a  very 
fine  eighteenth -century  Sevres  cup,  lost  among  very 
ordinary  tea-things,  which  I  bought  for  sixpence.  It 
was  certainly  the  survival  of  a  present  sent  by  some 
King  of  France  to  the  sovereign  of  Persia  in  his  day. 

All  sorts  of  things  can  be  found  in  that  bazar. 

Coins  are  always  attractive  to  Europeans — for  one 


266      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

thing,  it  is  difficult  to  have  too  many  to  put  into  your 
portmanteau.  Here  also  you  have  to  be  especially 
careful,  for  from  one  genuine  coin  you  may  manufacture 
thousands  by  moulding.  This  is  why  you  are  always 
sure  to  find  the  huge  silver  coin,  like  a  five-shilling  piece, 
of  Alexander  the  Great,  which  has  a  head  with  a  casque 
and  a  strikingly  handsome  profile. 

There  are  many  imitations  of  Greek  and  Roman 
coins,  because  so  many  genuine  ones  are  found  in  Persia 
— sometimes  you  hit  upon  a  genuine  one  by  mistake. 

The  old  Sassanian  coinage  and  more  recent  Persian 
issues  are  to  be  found  in  quantities. 

Bled  as  you  may  be  by  the  merchants,  you  are  never 
likely  to  suffer  as  his  faithful  lieges  suffer  at  the  hands 
of  the  Shah,  when,  walking  into  the  bazar  with  a 
numerous  suite,  he  selects  a  shop  which  has  the  appear- 
ance of  being  well  filled  with  the  most  valuable  kinds  of 
merchandise. 

He  enters  it,  and  offers  the  merchant  to  go  into 
partnership  with  him — an  offer  which  is  always  accepted 
with  enthusiasm,  for  the  Shahin-Shah  sets  up  an 
auction,  and  the  courtiers  run  the  price  up  and  struggle 
to  curry  favour  with  him,  so  that  a  thing  which  is  worth 
one  shilling  may  be  sold  for  twenty  pounds,  and  it  has 
to  be  paid  cash  down,  for,  as  the  Persian  proverb  says, 
"  A  box  on  the  ear  in  cash  is  better  than  the  promise 
of  sweatmeats,"  which  is  much  stronger  than  our  "A 
bird  in  the  hand  is  worth  two  in  the  bush." 

When  everything    is    sold,  the    Shah   makes  up  the 


BAZARS  267 

accounts  with  his  temporary  partner,  who  is  delighted 
at  such  a  windfall ;  and  the  Shah,  equally  delighted  to 
have  made  a  little  ready  money,  goes  back  to  his 
palace  cheered  by  the  populace,  and  conscious  of  well- 
doing. 

The  Shah's  success  as  a  merchant  shows  that  the 
proverb  which  says  that  "One  cannot  hold  two  water- 
melons in  one  hand  "  does  not  always  hold  good. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII 


RELIGIONS 


Persia  is  prolific  in  religions.  To  name  only  the  most 
important,  we  have  to  begin  with  the  oldest,  the 
Zoroastrian,  which  is  now  represented  by  the  Gabr,  or 
Parsees.  Small  communities  of  them  are  scattered  in 
certain  provinces.  They  are  persecuted,  and  have  none 
of  the  wealth  and  influence  enjoyed  by  the  Parsees  of 
Bombay.  In  Teheran  they  are  all  gardeners.  There 
are  a  fair  number  of  Jews,  all  engaged  in  trade. 

Next  to  them  in  the  matter  of  their  antiquity  are 
certain  Christian  sects — the  Nestorians,  Armenians,  and 
Chaldeans,  who  were  in  Persia  before  the  Mahometan 
conquest.  They  are  not  very  numerous  or  very  important 
except  from  the  antiquarian  point  of  view.  It  may  be 
mentioned  that  they  furnish  the  converts  |of  the  various 
Roman  Catholic,  Protestant,  and  Orthodox  missions. 

Third  in  point  of  antiquity,  but  far  the  most  important, 
are  the  Mohammedans,  who  are  in  Persia  mostly  Shiites, 
though  there  are  also  many  Sunnites,  especially  in  the 
western  and  northern  provinces.  Many  schisms  have 
divided  the  Mohammedans — for  instance,  Sufism,  Ali- 
Oullaism,  Ismailism,  and  lately  Babism. 

268 


RELIGIONS  269 

The  State  religion  is  Shiite  Mahometanism. 

Religion  is  too  solemn  a  subject  to  be  introduced 
much  into  "Queer  Things  about  Persia,"  though  it  is 
queer  enough,  in  all  conscience,  in  the  land  of  the  Shah ; 
but  there  are  certain  peculiarities  in  connection  with 
the  Shiite  Mahometanism  which  have  a  spectacular 
interest  that  brings  them  within  the  scope  of  this 
book  :  for  example,  the  religious  theatres  and  proces- 
sions. 

The  Shiites  assumed  at  first  the  name  of  "  Friends  of 
the  people  of  the  Prophet's  House."  One  of  the  features 
of  their  religion  is  the  quasi-adoration  which  is  accorded 
to  AH. 

AH  is  the  heir  of  the  temporal  goods  of  the  Prophet, 
the  legitimate  successor  to  the  throne,  and  above  all 
he  is  associated  in  the  revelation.  He  is,  in  the  eyes 
of  the  Persians,  the  depositary  of  the  secrets  of  God. 

AH,  nephew  and  son-in-law  of  the  Prophet,  had  nine 
wives,  fifteen  sons,  and  nineteen  daughters. 

Abou-Bekr,  Omar,  Osman,  who  were  Caliphs  after 
the  death  of  Mahomet,  are  considered  as  usurpers, 
blasphemers,  and  sacrilegious  persons,  and  they  are 
hated. 

The  Shiites  have  not  even  hesitated  to  add  to  the 
profession  of  faith  given  by  the  Prophet,  "  There  is  no 
God  but  God,  and  Mahomet  is  his  prophet,"  the  words, 
"and  AH  is  his  Vali  (lieutenant)."  The  Prophet  himself 
takes  the  second  place  in  their  creed,  and  the  most 
childish    tales    are    reported    quite    seriously    by    good 


270      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

historians  about  the  beloved  AH.  For  example,  the 
following  story  told  by  Ammar  Yacer  :  ^ — 

"  Ali  departed  from  Kufa  one  day  to  go  to  Babel  upon 
very  important  business.  He  was  so  busy  there  that  he 
had  no  time  to  say  his  prayers.  The  sun  was  setting 
when  a  young  man  cried  to  him,  "  O  Ali,  hear  my  prayer 
and  pity  me !  Alas,  my  wife  and  my  children  are  dying 
with  hunger.  I  had  a  field  whose  products  gave  us  our 
subsistence,  but  for  three  years  past  a  monstrous  lion 
has  settled  on  my  property,  and  nobody  dares  enter  to 
cultivate  it." 

Then  Ali  turned  towards  me,  and  said,  "  O  Ammar, 
go  thou  with  that  young  man,  and  when  he  has  shown 
thee  the  lion,  present  to  it  this  ring,  and  say,  *  O  Lion, 
Ali  orders  thee  to  leave  this  spot ! '"  I  remained  much 
perplexed,  for  though  I  was  frightened  of  the  lion,  I 
was  still  more  frightened  of  the  Prince  of  the  Believers. 
But  at  last,  feeling  bound  to  obey,  I  committed  myself 
to  the  mercy  of  God,  and  went.  When  we  got  to  his 
estate,  the  young  man  climbed  upon  a  tree,  and, 
trembling,  pointed  out  to  me  a  little  knoll,  and  told 
me  that  the  lion  was  behind  it.  I  advanced,  and  saw 
a  lion  as  big  as  a  buffalo.  I  felt  fear  seizing  me, 
especially  when  the  lion,  after  having  looked  at  me, 
sprang  towards  me,  roaring  terribly.  I  held  out  the 
ring  to  him,  and  recited  the  orders  of  Ali.  I  had 
hardly  finished  when  the  lion  bowed  down  in  the 
dust,   and  then,  getting  up,   went   away.      I    was    much 

^  Translated  from  the  Zinnet-el-Medjalis  by  A.  L.  M.  Nicolas. 


RELIGIONS  271 

astonished  at  it  all,  and  thought  that  some  magic  had 
been  performed,  but  I  quickly  repented  of  such  an 
unworthy  thought. 

When  I  returned  to  Ali  the  sun  was  just  disappear- 
ing behind  the  horizon.  Ali,  raising  his  hands  towards 
the  sky,  made  a  sign,  and  the  orb  of  day  retraced  his 
steps  obediently,  and  put  himself  at  the  spot  he  should 
occupy  at  the  moment  of  the  prayer. 

Ali  then  made  that  prayer  which  he  had  no  time 
to  do  till  then,  and  when  it  was  finished,  he  turned 
towards  me  and  said,  "  O  Ammar,  if  what  thou  hast 
seen  about  the  lion  was  an  illusion  of  magic,  what 
wilt  thou  say  of  the  obedience  of  the  sun  to  my 
orders  ?  " 

There  are  a  quantity  of  stories  of  this  order  told  and 
believed  by  the  majority  of  Shiites. 

Their  love  for  Ali  is  balanced  by  their  hatred  for 
Omar,  the  second  Caliph,  whom  they  abhor  more  than 
Christians  hate  Judas  Iscariot.  Curses  for  Omar  are 
constantly  on  the  lips  of  the  Persians.  One  wonders 
why ;  is  it  because  he  conquered  Persia  .-*  Very  few 
Persians  remember  that.  And  at  the  same  time  it 
may  be  said  that  it  is  thanks  to  Omar  that  they  were 
led  to  the  true  faith. 

But  logic  has  nothing  to  do  with  these  matters. 

This  hatred  of  Omar  has  given  rise  to  as  many 
legends  as  the  love  of  Ali.  Here  is  one  of  the  most 
extraordinary  : — 

One  day  Omar's  wife  was  washing  the  linen  of  the 


272      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

house.  She  prayed  her  husband  to  fetch  some  water 
at  the  spring  not  far  from  there.  He  took  a  pitcher, 
and  went  to  the  spring.  At  that  moment  he  was 
transformed  into  a  female  dog.  The  street  boys  who 
saw  him  in  this  new  shape  threw  stones  at  him,  and 
he  fled  barking.  He  Hved  in  this  condition  for  seven 
years  in  the  midst  of  his  brother  dogs,  and  fulfilled 
all  the  natural  functions  of  his  new  state.  One  day 
he  came  across  the  spot  where  he  had  been  drawing 
the  water ;  he  was  followed  by  six  little  puppies  that 
were  his  offspring,  when  suddenly  he  recovered  his 
natural  form.  He  took  the  pitcher  that  he  found  at 
the  spot  where  he  had  left  it,  and,  being  uncertain  as 
to  the  reception  which  awaited  him,  proceeded  very 
slowly  to  his  house. 

He  found  his  wife  still  washing,  and  as  he  made  his 
excuses  for  having  been  so  long,  she  said,  "  But  you 
have  not  taken  more  time  than  was  necessary  to  go 
from  the  house  to  the  spring  and  back." 

Stupefied,  and  not  knowing  what  to  think,  Omar 
reflected  for  a  long  time,  and  ended  by  convincing 
himself  that  he  had  been  the  victim  of  a  hallucination. 

When  he  got  rid  of  his  disquietude,  he  went  to  the 
mosque,  where,  as  was  the  custom,  he  found  the  Prophet 
seated  in  the  midst  of  his  companions.  He  saluted 
them,  and  took  his  place  in  the  circle.  They  were 
talking,  when  suddenly  six  little  puppies,  walking  with 
difficulty,  entered  the  gate  of  the  mosque.  Omar 
grew  pale.     The  companions  of  the  Prophet,  indignant 


RELIGIONS  273 

at  the  intrusion,  sprang  up  to  chase  these  unclean  httle 
animals  out  of  the  mosque. 

"  Let  them  be,"  said  the  Prophet,  "and  we  shall  see 
what  they  will  do." 

Slowly,  and  with  uncertain  paces,  the  little  animals 
made  their  way  to  Omar,  shamed  out  of  countenance. 
When  they  came  near  him,  they  uttered  squeals  of  joy, 
and  crawled  over  his  chest  to  look  for  the  milk  which 
they  were  accustomed  to  find  there.  The  wretched 
man  threw  himself  at  the  feet  of  the  Prophet,  who, 
thinking  the  punishment  was  sufficient,  made  a  sign, 
and  the  puppies  disappeared. 

All  possible  means  of  dishonouring  the  memory  of 
Omar  are  employed.  Some  carpet-makers  have  woven 
the  name  of  Omar  in  their  carpets  unnoticed,  in  order 
that  it  may  be  trampled  on  by  the  True  Believers. 
Other  people  have  it  tattooed  upon  the  soles  of  their 
feet. 

The  following  are  the  events  which  led  up  to  the 
schism  of  Persia  and  the  foundation  of  the  Shiite 
sect. 

Ali,  nephew  and  son-in-law  of  the   Prophet,  was  a 

man  of   the  most  chivalrous   and   devoted   nature,   but 

he  managed  to  have  some  powerful  enemies,  amongst 

whom    was   the   all-powerful    daughter    of   Abou-bekr, 

Ayesha,  the  only  wife  of  Mahomet  that  had  not  been 

married  before.     He  made  an  enemy  of  her  in  this  way. 

She  was   the    youngest   and   most   beautiful    of  the 
i8 


274      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

wives  of  the  Prophet.  She  was  accused  on  one  occa- 
sion of  having  committed  adultery  with  Sawan,  who 
commanded  the  rear-guard  of  the  army  of  Mahomet. 

In  the  Sonna  or  Book  of  the  Traditions  she  herself 
tells  the  following  story  in  the  following  manner  : — 

Every  time  that  the  Prophet  went  away  on  an 
expedition,  he  cast  lots  to  see  which  of  his  wives  he 
should  take  with  him.  When  a  new  war  was  announced 
to  us,  our  hearts  were  beating  with  hope  or  fear.  The 
decision  of  the  lots  had  been  that  time  in  my  favour. 
The  Apostle  of  God  covered  me  with  a  veil,  and  I 
went  in  his  train  on  a  camel,  according  to  the  custom 
of  women,  concealed  from  sight  by  the  hangings  of  my 
litter  as  if  I  had  been  under  a  tent. 

When  the  expedition  was  finished,  the  signal  of 
departure  was  given,  and  the  army  marched  back 
towards  Mecca. 

I  was  obliged  to  dismount  from  my  camel.  My 
litter  was  taken  off  its  back  for  the  purpose.  I  waited 
until  the  troops  had  departed  before  I  thought  of  mount- 
ing again.  I  discovered  then  that  I  had  lost  my 
necklace,  and  retraced  my  steps  to  the  spot  where  I 
had  been  resting.  I  was  a  long  time  looking  about 
for  it,  and  meanwhile  some  soldiers  passing  near  my 
litter  lifted  it  up  and  put  it  on  the  camel  again,  believing 
that  I  was  in  it.  They  were  not  surprised  at  its  light- 
ness, attributing  it  to  the  care  women  take  not  to  burden 
themselves  with  much  baggage  in  such  travels,  and  to 
my    great    youth — for    I    was    then    only    fifteen.       My 


RELIGIONS  275 

attendants  could  not  guess  my  absence,  and  drove  my 
camel  off  without  me. 

When  I  had  found  my  necklace,  I  returned  in  glee 
to  the  spot  where  I  had  left  my  litter.  There  was  not  a 
soul  there.  I  called  out,  but  there  was  no  answer.  I 
filled  the  air  with  my  shrieks  :  they  were  not  heard.  I 
hoped  that  my  absence  would  be  noticed  and  someone 
would  return  to  fetch  me,  but  my  hopes  were  dashed. 
Weary  with  calling  out  and  waiting,  I  sat  down,  and 
slumber  overtook  me.  Sawam,  who  shared  my  unhappi- 
ness,  had  remained  with  the  rear-guard  :  he  passed  in 
the  early  morning  the  place  where  I  was  reposing. 

Seeing  me  without  a  veil,  he  recognised  me.  I  woke 
at  hearing  his  voice.  "  We  are  the  Sons  of  God,"  he 
said,  "and  we  return  to  him." 

I  call  Heaven  to  witness  that  he  did  not  say  anything 
else.  I  covered  myself  with  my  veil.  He  had  his  camel 
brought  up  and  helped  me  to  mount,  and  led  it  by  the 
bridle  till  we  rejoined  the  main  body. 

Ayesha  pleaded  her  cause  before  her  husband,  her 
father,  and  her  mother.  She  was  young,  beautiful,  and 
eloquent,  and  succeeded.  Mahomet,  who  loved  her 
tenderly,  was  delighted  to  find  her  innocent,  and  in  order 
not  to  let  any  doubt  rest  on  her  conduct,  no  cloud  darken 
her  reputation,  he  called  down  from  heaven  the  twenty- 
fourth  chapter  of  the  Koran,  which  justifies  her 
completely. 

"When  you  heard  the  accusations,  the  faithful  of  the 
two  sexes  have  not  they  thought  privately  what  was  right 


27G      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

to  believe  ?  Have  they  not  said  that  it  was  an  impudent 
He?  If  divine  mercy  and  goodness  had  not  kept  an  eye 
on  you,  this  He  would  have  brought  upon  your  heads  a 
terrible  chastisement.  It  has  run  from  mouth  to  mouth. 
You  have  repeated  that  of  which  you  were  ignorant,  and 
you  have  regarded  a  calumny  as  a  venial  fault,  while  it  is 
a  crime  in  the  eyes  of  the  eternal." 

All  the  accusers  of  Ayesha  were  punished — with 
eighty  strokes  of  a  whip.  AH,  consulted  by  Mahomet  in 
that  delicate  affair,  had  counselled  him  to  interrogate  the 
maid  of  Ayesha.  The  young  wife  did  not  forget  this 
counsel,  and  owing  to  that  she  intrigued  against  his 
succession  to  the  Caliphate, 

In  spite  of  the  chances  he  had  of  getting  the  Cali- 
phate, his  enemies  succeeded  in  putting  him  aside,  and 
Abou-bekr,  Omar,  and  Osman  were  Caliphs  before  him. 
He  then  became  Caliph  for  four  years,  and  was  murdered 
in  the  mosque  of  Kufa. 

Yezid  seized  the  Caliphate.  But  one  of  the  sons  of 
AH,  Houssein,  had  married  the  daughter  of  the  last  king 
of  the  Sassanian  dynasty  of  Persia,  Yezdejerd.  He  lived 
in  Medina  with  his  brother  Hassan,  his  sister  Zeyneb, 
and  the  children  of  these  two,  all  that  remained  of  the 
blood  of  the  Prophet. 

When  AH  was  dead,  his  partisans  persuaded  Hous- 
sein that  his  duty  was  to  take  the  Caliphate,  and  little  by 
little  he  was  driven  into  a  sort  of  conspiracy.  The 
inhabitants  of  Kufa,  penitent  for  the  crime  that  had 
been    committed    in    their   mosque    against    AH,    made 


RELIGIONS  277 

him    promises   of    help,    undertaking   to    proclaim    him 
Caliph. 

Houssein,  believing  in  these  promises,  left  Medina 
and  his  brother  Hassan,  and  went  with  all  his  family  to 
Kufa.  This  caravan  formed  what  the  Persians  call  the 
People  of  the  Tent.  But  Yezid  sent  some  cavalry  in 
pursuit  of  him,  who  surrounded  the  camp  of  Houssein  in 
the  desert,  a  short  distance  from  the  Tigris,  in  the  plain 
of  Kerbela. 

At  first  the  soldiers  feared  to  commit  sacrilege  by 
killing  more  people  of  the  blood  of  the  Prophet.  But  the 
orders  of  the  Caliph  were  decisive.  They  then  tried  to 
make  them  die  of  thirst.  No  one  was  allowed  to  come 
out  of  their  tents,  which  were  filled  with  children  and 
women  in  far  greater  proportion  than  men.  They  were 
altogether  about  eighty.  The  heat  was  insupportable,  and 
the  water  soon  gave  out.  Imam  Abbas  was  the  first  to 
sally  out  towards  the  river  to  get  some  water. 

He  took  a  water-skin,  mounted  his  horse,  but  was 
stopped  by  the  blockaders.  An  Arab  soldier  cut  off  his 
riofht  hand  :  he  took  the  skin  in  his  mouth  to  leave  his  left 
hand  free  for  the  scimitar,  and  again  made  for  the  enemy. 
His  other  hand  was  hewn  off,  and  at  the  same  moment 
several  weapons  pierced  him,  and  he  fell  dead. 

The  second  martyr  was  Ali  Akbar,  litde  more  than 
a  child,  who  tried  to  get  to  the  river,  but  met  with  the 
same  fate.  All  the  People  of  the  Tent  died  in  this  way, 
one  after  the  other,  by  most  tragic  and  horrible  deaths. 


278      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

To  their  adoration  for  AH  the  Shiites  add  the  cult  of 
the  Imams,  who  are  twelve  in  number — except  among 
one  sect,  which  recognises  only  seven. 

The  twelfth  Imam,  the  Imam  Mehdi,  or  Mahdi,  is 
supposed  to  be  still  living,  but  concealed.  He  travels 
through  the  world,  and  it  is  supposed  to  be  known  exactly 
and  every  day  in  what  direction  his  envoys  are  to  be 
found. 

In  the  Persian  calendar  can  be  read  the  follow- 
ing :— 

"Those  among  the  chosen  slaves  elected  that  are 
called  Abdal  or  Rijal-oul-Keib,  or  else  the  Companions 
of  His  Highness  the  Master  of  the  Order,  Imam  Mehdi, 
are  to  be  found  on  four  days  every  month,  on  one  of  the 
spots  of  the  world,  and  spread  their  blessings  upon  the 
creatures. 

'*  The  morning  when  one  leaves  the  house,  or  begins 
to  work,  he  must  pay  attention  to  which  side  they  are. 
Then  he  must  make  the  appointed  prayer." 

Then  comes  the  following  notice,  indicating  on  what 
days  they  will  be  in  each  quarter  :  "  The  first,  the  ninth, 
and  the  seventeenth  of  each  month,  these  blessed  beings 
are  in  the  east.  On  the  second,  tenth,  eighteenth,  twenty- 
sixth,  they  are  between  the  east  and  the  north.  On  the 
third,  eleventh,  nineteenth,  twenty-seventh,  they  are  in 
the  north."     And  so  on. 

These  personages  are  constantly  moving  with  a 
stupefying  rapidity.  They  travel  on  horseback,  some- 
times with  their  master,  the  Imam  Mehdi ;  and  sometimes 


RELIGIONS  279 

when  they  meet  men  they  allow  themselves  to  be  seen, 
converse,  and  work  miracles. 

These  apparitions  take  the  place  in  Persia  which  the 
apparitions  of  Our  Lady  and  the  Saints  hold  in  Roman 
Catholic  countries.  There  used  to  be  a  miracle  also 
corresponding  to  the  Liquefaction  of  the  Blood  of  St. 
Januarius  at  Naples.  It  was  a  tree  bleeding  during  the 
first  days  of  Moharrem  every  year,  and  a  quantity  of 
pilgrims  used  to  go  there. 

It  is  the  Imam  Mehdi  who  will  reappear  one  day  and 
wipe  from  the  surface  of  the  earth  all  the  unbelievers. 
He  is  the  "  man  "  of  the  Last  Judgment. 

In  fact  the  Shiites  believe  that  there  will  be  two  last 
judgments,  because  Islam  being  the  religion  of  God,  it  is 
not  admissible  that  it  should  not  reign  all  over  the  world. 
It  is,  from  the  Mussulman  point  of  view,  very  simple  : 
Mahomet  has  placed  his  own  family  on  the  same  rank  as 
the  Koran.  This  family  alone,  therefore,  possesses  the 
complete  and  absolute  knowledge.  And  this  is  exactly 
what  happens  with  Ali  and  the  twelve  Imams.  The  last 
of  these  twelve  has  disappeared,  and  hence  the  gate  of 
knowledge  has  been  shut,  and  the  Shiite  religion  has 
ceased  to  be  spread  through  humanity.  As  divine  know- 
ledge has  not  been  completely  unveiled  to  the  eyes  of  the 
world,  there  is  nothing  extraordinary  in  the  fact  that  a 
part  of  the  world  remains  "unfaithful."  Only  the  elect 
of  God,  His  beloved  people,  those  upon  whom  He  has 
poured  His  blessing,  become  Mussulmans. 

The  missing  Imam  will  reappear :  it  is  he  who  will 


280      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

unveil  the  last  mysteries.  He  is  in  that  sense  the  proof 
of  God  ;  the  light  that  he  will  spread  will  be  so  blinding 
that  only  those  whose  heart  is  made  hard  by  the  devil 
will  not  see  it. 

The  surface  of  the  world  will  then  be  inhabited  by 
Mussulmans  only.  It  is  for  them  that  will  shine  the 
second  day  of  the  Last  Judgment,  when  everybody  will 
receive  the  recompense  and  the  chastisement  that  is  due 
to  them.  The  unfaithful  will  have  nothing  to  see  in  it, 
for  from  the  apparition  of  the  Imam  they  will  have  been 
definitely  condemned,  and  none  will  remain  on  the  face 
of  the  earth. 


CHAPTER   XXIX 

RELIGIOUS    PROCESSIONS    AND    THEATRES — THE 
PERSIAN    OBERAMMERGAU 

Religious  processions  are  striking  in  all  countries, 
but  especially  in  Persia,  for,  in  remembrance  of  the 
sufferings  of  their  saints,  the  Persians  love  to  lacerate 
their  bodies. 

The  month  of  Moharrem  is  their  Month  of  Mourning. 
It  is  during  that  month  that  Imam  Houssein,  the  son 
of  Ali,  was  assassinated  in  the  desert  near  Kerbela  by 
the  men  of  the  Caliph  Y^zid. 

At  the  first  moon  of  that  month  all  the  Mussulmans 
put  on  mourning — they  dress  in  black,  leave  their  shirts 
open  on  their  chests  (regardless  of  the  season ;  and  as 
the  Persians  use  lunar  months,  it  may  be  hot  or  cold), 
and  strike  professionally  mournful  attitudes.  Some  of 
the  men  of  the  people  meet  in  congregations,  go  to  the 
mosques,  and  walk  in  the  streets  preceded  by  a  Mollah, 
singing  in  a  monotonous  tone  sentences  like  this : 
Houssein  Kafan-na-dared — i.e.  Houssein  has  no  winding- 
sheet — whilst  they  beat  their  bare  chests,  rhythmically 
flinging  out  their  arms  to  their  full  length.  They  beat 
themselves  so  fiercely  and  at  the  same  time  that  it  makes 

281 


282      QUEER  THINGS  A130UT  PERSIA 

a  rolling  like  a  band  of  drums.  Fanaticism  is  at  its 
zenith,  and  it  is  advisable  for  a  European,  if  he  sees 
such  a  procession  approaching,  to  make  himself  scarce. 

It  is  during  this  month  that  the  only  theatrical 
performances  of  Persia  take  place.  They  are  called 
Tazieh,  and  the  place  where  they  are  performed  is 
called  Tekieh.  There  are  two  or  three  special  theatres 
for  this  in  Teheran,  the  largest  is  the  Tekieh  in  the 
palace,  which  was  built  by  Nasr-ed-din,  but  can  no 
longer  be  used  because  people  are  afraid  of  its  coming 
down  (it  is  cracked).  I  have  been  to  several  of  these 
sacred  dramas  with  the  Mirza. 

They  are  performed  in  the  courtyards  of  the  houses 
of  the  rich,  who  consider  it  a  meritorious  act  to  lend 
them  for  the  purpose  without  charge. 

One  of  the  best  I  went  to  was  at  the  house  of  one 
of  the  Ministers.  The  courtyard  was  covered  over  with 
an  awning,  and  the  tank,  which  is  in  the  middle  of  every 
Persian  courtyard,  was  planked  over  to  make  the  sakou 
or  stage.  The  neighbours  as  a  meritorious  act  had  lent 
all  their  pictures,  carpets,  curtains,  mirrors,  lustres,  and 
lamps  to  ornament  the  Tekieh.  Even  the  poor  had 
participated  in  these  offerings,  by  lending  small  things 
without  value. 

The  lamps  and  lustres  were  the  feature  of  the 
performance.  The  whole  of  one  side  of  the  courtyard 
was  filled  up  with  wooden  shelves  for  the  accommodation 
of  these  and  glass  vases  filled  with  flowers,  behind  which 
the  pictures  and  the  mirrors  had  been  placed. 


aa 


3 
O 

u 


o 


PROCESSIONS  AND  THEATRES        283 

The  effect  might  have  been  very  beautiful  if  all 
these  crystal  ornaments  were  not  in  such  shocking  taste. 
It  was,  anyhow,  very  curious. 

There  was  a  sort  of  tribune  covered  with  cashmere 
shawls  erected  on  one  side,  on  which  the  chief  reciting 
Mollah  stood. 

Everybody,  from  the  prince  to  the  beggar,  is  admitted 
free  of  cost.  Carpets  were  spread  all  over  the  courtyard. 
The  women  sat  on  one  side  carefully  covered  with  their 
chader  and  rouhband.  With  them  might  be  seen  very 
small  girls  with  uncovered  faces. 

The  other  side  was  occupied  by  the  men,  and  round 
the  stage  a  space  was  left  clear. 

The  master  of  the  house  and  his  guests,  amongst 
whom  we  were  accommodated,  were  seated  at  the 
windows  all  round — for  all  the  windows  in  a  Persian 
house  look  out  on  the  courtyard.  They  are  wide 
open.  Their  sashes  push  up  like  those  of  English 
windows. 

Curiously  enough,  in  spite  of  the  fanaticism  of  the 
Mahometan  Persians,  Europeans  are  invited  to  be 
present  at  these  religious  dramas.  It  might  not  be 
advisable  for  them  to  be  in  the  crowd,  but  they  may 
be  standing  at  a  window  ;  and  for  some  reason — probably 
the  sacredness  of  hospitality — their  presence  does  not 
provoke  overt  fanaticism,  though  the  lower  classes  look 
at  them  with  anything  but  friendly  eyes. 

Over  the  sill  of  the  windows  rich  carpets  were  spread 
and  vases  of  flowers  were  to  be  seen  everywhere. 


284      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

These  representations  take  place  in  the  afternoon 
every  day,  and  sometimes  at  night  also. 

They  are  a  sort  of  manifestation  of  the  Persian 
patriotism  in  which  the  Shiites  show  their  hatred  against 
the  Sunnite  Arabians  and  Turks,  a  hatred  that  the 
Shahs  and  the  clergy  have  encouraged  in  order  to  cut 
off  Persia  completely  from  the  influence  of  the  Com- 
mander of  the  Faithful  at  Constantinople. 

It  is  with  this  same  idea,  and  to  form  a  check  to 
the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  where  lies  the  tomb  of  the 
Prophet,  that  the  sovereigns  of  Persia  have  created 
Meshed,  in  collusion  with  the  Persian  priesthood,  who 
saw  a  great  advantage  in  it,  and  go  there  in  great 
pomp. 

The  plays  performed  do  not  bear  the  name  of  any 
author,  and  generally  they  have  several  authors,  for  the 
passages  which  are  unsuccessful  are  cut  out  and  replaced 
by  fresh  passages  from  other  pieces  which  have  made 
a  great  impression.  It  would  therefore  be  nearly  impos- 
sible to  identify  the  authorship  of  these  hybrid  works. 

The  actors  who  take  part  in  them,  though  these 
representations  are  regarded  with  disapproval  by  the 
high  clergy,  enjoy,  nevertheless,  a  good  deal  of  con- 
sideration. It  is  not  for  nothing  that  they  personify  the 
sacred  personages  who  are  dearest  to  the  Persian  heart. 

They  associate  themselves  in  companies  of  men  and 
boys,  under  the  direction  of  a  chief  called  Oustad  or 
master,  a  sort  of  stage  manager,  who  presides  over  the 
performance,  gives  orders  to  the  actors,  hands  to  them 


PROCESSIONS  AND  THEATRES        285 

the  stage  properties,  and  stirs  them  up  when  they  lack 
fire.  He  also  tells  the  audience  where  the  scene  is 
laid — because,  of  course,  scenery  would  be  impossible 
on  a  stage  surrounded  by  the  audience.  In  brief,  he  is 
the  deus  ex  machina  of  the  Tazieh. 

Like  his  colleagues  of  Europe,  he  does  all  he  can 
to  get  a  star  for  his  company,  and  Mirza  Ali  Akbar 
assured  me  that  this  one  had  a  star  of  the  first  order. 

The  afternoon  representation  was  about  to  begin, 
the  programme  being  "  Kassem's  Marriage,"  one  of  the 
most  popular  subjects.  The  Tekiek  was  filled  with  a 
motley  crowd,  the  rich  next  to  the  poor,  the  thief  next 
to  the  policeman  ;  and  all  one  side  of  the  court  presented 
the  aspect  of  a  field  of  black  gourds  leaning  one  against 
the  other — it  was  the  side  of  the  fair  sex. 

The  trumpets,  the  drums,  and  the  Kernas,  the  long 
horns  used  from  time  immemorial  to  salute  the  sun, 
brayed  out  their  noisy  introduction,  and  a  band — dasteh 
— of  devotees,  beating  their  breasts,  entered,  and  walked 
round  the  sakou,  invoking  the  names  of  Hassan  and 
Houssein.  When  sherbet  and  drinks  had  been  served  to 
them,  they  went  out  again. 

The  audience  did  not  show  any  mark  of  impatience. 
A  few  preparations  had  been  neglected :  the  Oustad 
came  to  do  them  himself,  with  his  assistants.  From 
the  masts  holding  up  the  awning,  he  suspended  lion  skins 
to  recall  the  desert;  scimitars,  helmets,  and  shields  as 
emblems  of  battles,  and  some  banners. 

On  one  side  of  the  sakou  he  placed  a  heap  of  chaff 


286      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

to  represent  the  sands  of  the  desert,  in  order  that  the 
actors  in  moments  of  lamentation  mio-ht  throw  handfuls 
on  their  heads  in  sign  of  mourning  in  the  bibHcal  fashion. 

On  the  other  side  he  placed  the  basin  of  a  silver 
ewer,  beautifully  chased,  full  of  water,  to  typify  the 
river  Tigris.  During  these  preparations,  which  the 
spectators  followed  with  interest,  some  elegant  young 
men  served  drinks  and  sherbets  and  ices  to  the  public. 
One  of  them  had  on  his  back  a  goat-skin  full  of  water 
like  a  sakka — street  water-seller — in  commemoration  of 
the  sufferings  by  thirst  of  the  martyrs. 

Amid  the  deafening  sound  of  barbarian  music  the 
troupe  of  actors  made  their  entry.  It  was  a  long  and 
solemn  cortege,  at  the  head  of  which  marched  the  star, 
a  boy  of  fifteen,  dressed  in  a  cashmere  shawl  surcoat, 
with  a  golden  helmet,  a  coat  of  mail,  and  a  scimitar. 
He  was  very  handsome  in  the  Persian  style,  with  eyes  a 
little  too  large  for  our  taste,  and  very  well  defined  eye- 
brows, which  almost  joined,  a  mouth  with  full  red  lips, 
and  an  olive  complexion.  He  had  long  waving  curls 
falling  over  his  shoulders,  and  walked  slowly,  with  the 
dignity,  the  majesty,  and  the  importance  of  a  peacock 
spreading  his  tail.  Stars,  whether  they  are  in  Teheran 
or  in  London,  are  always  stars,  and  constellate. 

The  Mirza  told  me  that  he  came  from  Ispahan,  where 
the  people  are  most  graceful  and  animated.  He  had 
begun  by  being  trained  when  quite  small  by  his  father, 
the  chief  of  a  company  of  dancers,  who  wished  to  make 
of  him  a  singing  dancer.     His  voice  was  so  melodious, 


PROCESSIONS  AND  THEATRES       287 

and  his  elocution  so  perfect,  that  he  abandoned  that 
profane  profession  for  the  sacred  art,  and  came  to 
Teheran,  where  he  obtained  large  salaries  —  he  was 
supposed  to  be  paid  four  hundred  tomans  for  the  repre- 
sentations of  the  first  ten  days  of  Moharrem.  This 
constitutes  affluence  for  a  Persian  of  the  lower  class, 
who  can  live  on  a  pound  a  month  handsomely. 

During  the  remainder  of  the  year  he  led  the  life  of 
a  man  of  means,  singing  only  from  time  to  time  at  the 
houses  of  grandees. 

The  ill-natured  added  that  he  drank,  and  was  ready 
to  lay  aside  his  sacred  profession  to  become  once  more 
a  singing  dancer  if  he  received  good  offers,  and  that  his 
morals  were  not  irreproachable. 

Like  every  self-respecting  star,  he  was  capricious, 
exigeant,  and  disagreeable,  and  was  a  thorn  in  the  side 
of  his  director  and  his  colleagues,  who  waited  with 
impatience  till  he  should  lose  his  voice  and  his  success 
to  make  him  rue  it. 

He  took  the  part  of  Kassem,  the  hero  of  the  drama, 
son  of  Imam  Hassan  and  nephew  of  Imam  Houssein. 

Houssein  himself  walked  beside  him  a  little  in  the 
rear.  He  was  a  full-grown  man,  whose  tall  figure 
towered  over  Kassem.  Dressed  in  green,  with  an 
immense  turban  of  the  same  colour,  his  face  was  covered 
with  a  square  veil.  Houssein,  son  of  AH  and  Fatimeh, 
the  daughter  of  the  Prophet,  is  supposed  by  the  Persians 
to  be  the  legitimate  Caliph,  whose  death  was  decreed  by 
the  usurper  Yezid. 


288      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

Other  boys  and  other  men  followed,  the  latter 
taking  the  parts  of  aged  women  or  angels.  When  veiled 
they  could  present  themselves,  and  even  retain  their 
beards  without  spoiling  the  effect.  The  former  furnished 
young  heroes,  with  bare  faces,  and  young  women. 

This  first  group  were  supposed  to  be  the  People  of 
the  Tent,  i.e.  the  family  of  the  Imams.  They  went  up 
to  take  their  seats  upon  the  sakou,  which  they  never  left 
once  during  the  whole  performance.  When  they  were 
supposed  to  be  on  the  stage,  they  stood  up ;  when  they 
were  supposed  to  be  off  it,  they  merely  sat  down. 

Houssein  sat  upon  a  chair  in  the  middle  of  the  stage. 
It  was  a  folding  deck-chair  of  gilt  bamboo  and  pink 
plush,  embroidered  with  outrageous  scarlet  flowers,  bright 
green  leaves,  and  purple  scrolls  in  the  most  deplorable 
taste  that  Europe  can  furnish. 

Behind  him,  on  a  table,  was  a  halo  of  lamps 
and  lustre  candlesticks  crowded  together  like  empty 
bottles. 

Kassem  sat  in  front  of  him  in  the  Persian  fashion, 
upon  a  beautiful  silk  carpet.  The  others  seated  them- 
selves on  different  parts  of  the  sakou  :  the  bride,  Zobeida, 
daughter  of  Houssein,  on  the  right,  next  to  Zeyneb,  her 
aunt,  Houssein's  sister ;  and  the  mother  of  Kassem,  the 
widow  of  Hassan,  who  had  been  poisoned  at  Medina. 
Close  by  was  Omm-Leyla,  Houssein's  wife,  daughter 
of  the  last  Persian  king  of  the  Sassanian  dynasty,  more 
popularly  known  under  the  name  of  Bibi-shahr-Banou, 
the  lady  patron -saint  of  the  town,   whose  tomb  is  at 


PROCESSIONS  AND  THEATRES        289 

Rey,  the  ancient  Persian  capital  now  in  ruins,  close  to 
Teheran. 

Next  to  her  was  the  boy  who  was  soon  to  be  the  corpse 
of  little  AH  Akbar,  the  youngest  among  the  People  of 
the  Tent,  the  one  over  whose  fate  the  Persians  are  most 
miserable.  Death  overtook  him  when  he  had  escaped 
from  the  tent  and  was  flying  to  the  Tigris  to  quench  his 
thirst.  He  was  shot  down  with  arrows,  and  then  hacked 
to  pieces. 

Beside  the  Tigris,  whose  waters  glittered  in  the  silver 
basin,  came  to  sit  the  "corpse"  of  Abbas,  dressed  in  a 
sort  of  shirt,  stuck  with  arrows  and  smeared  with  gore,  to 
show  the  manner  of  his  death. 

On  the  sakou  were  also  several  little  children  not  more 
than  four  years  old,  with  round  caps  embroidered  with 
pearls,  and  all  sorts  of  amulets  hanging  round  their  heads 
and  necks,  who  remained  very  solemn  and  sad  all  through 
the  performance. 

The  second  part  of  the  cortege  was  the  most  sumptu- 
ous. It  was  composed  of  the  Caliph  Yezid,  surrounded 
by  his  court  and  wives  and  the  hated  general,  Ibn-Said, 
and  his  lieutenant,  Shamr,  both  murderers.  All  the 
richest  stuffs,  the  most  beautiful  jewels,  the  most  flashing 
armour  were  reserved  for  them,  and  made  a  strong 
contrast  to  the  simplicity  of  the  People  of  the  Tent.  The 
Caliph  Yezid  was  personified  by  a  man  with  a  square 
beard ;  he  wore  a  robe  of  silver  cloth  embroidered  with 
gold  palms.     All  the  jewels  of  the  harem  of  our  host — 

the  owner  of  the    Tekieh — were   sewn   upon    it.      His 
19 


290       QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

horse,  led  by  two  pages,  was  sumptuously  harnessed. 
The  other  pages  behind  bore  his  scimitar  and  his  shield. 
Then  came  his  wives,  with  their  faces  uncovered, 
represented  by  boys  who  had  been  dressed  in  costumes 
lent  by  European  women,  a  device  which  without  doubt 
was  intended  to  make  them  more  odious  to  the  public. 

Then  came  the  Court  and  Ibn-Said  and  Shamr  at  the 
head  of  the  army.  When  they  had  made  the  circuit  of 
the  sakoM,  Yezid,  his  wives  and  his  Court,  went  to  post 
themselves  upon  a  tribune  near  a  door  under  which  the 
army  and  the  horses  stationed  themselves. 
Then  the  play  began.  ^ 

First  came  a  sort  of  invocation  recited  by  the  Mollah 
on  the  tribune.  He  took  a  huge  roll  of  paper  and  read 
in  a  very  loud,  emphatic,  sing-song  fashion.  It  was  a 
sort  of  prologue,  explaining  the  subject  of  the  present 
performance. 

The  "corpses"  who  were  sitting  about  now  took  up 
their  positions  as  corpses.  Imam  Houssein  rose  from 
his  chair  and  read  an  invocation. 

The  actors  do  not  always  recite  their  parts  by  heart, 
they  often  read  them  from  rolls  of  paper. 

**  O  God,  look  at  the  disaster  with  which  heaven  and 
earth  are  stricken !  O  Kerbela,  see  how  my  soul  is 
oppressed !  O  blessed  Prophet,  one  after  the  other  the 
messages  of  blood  have  been  addressed  to  Thee !  "  (the 
souls  of  the  martyred  Imams). 

^  Comte  de  Gobineau  has  made  a  complete  translation  of  this  play,  which 
may  be  found  in  his  Religions  et  Philosophies  dans  PAsie  Centrale. 


PROCESSIONS  AND  THEATRES        291 

Then  he  invoked  himself:  '*0  Houssein,  walk  to 
the  marriage  of  thy  dear  Kassem,  and  see  how  well  the 
blood  replaces  the  henna  on  the  hands  and  feet  of  the 
young  people.  The  Nightingale  without  wings  of  the 
orchard  of  Hassan,  moans  from  her  heart.  O  Zephyr, 
in  passing  through  the  hair  of  Kassem  thou  becomest  as 
musk.  Pour  the  perfume  exhaled  from  the  grief  of  the 
son  on  the  grave  of  the  father." 

After  he  addressed  his  nephew,  who  got  up  :  "  O 
Sun  of  the  Skies  of  Martyrdom  :  brilliant  Moon  of  the 
second  of  the  Seven  Heavens,  Sun  armed  with  a  lasso, 
Moon  armed  with  arrows  and  darts.  O  unique  and 
virgin  Pearl  of  the  Chaste  Shelter  of  the  Sea  of  Honour, 
what  art  thou  coming  to  tell  me  ?  Speak  to  thy  lament- 
ing uncle." 

Kassem  miswers  :  "  O  light  of  the  eyes  of  Mohammed, 
the  all-powerful !  O  my  uncle !  O  lieutenant  of  AH,  the 
intrepid  Lion,  O  my  uncle  !  Abbas  has  perished !  AH 
Akbar  has  been  martyred !  Here  art  thou  without 
warriors,  without  standard-bearers,  O  my  uncle ! 

"  The  roses  are  past,  their  buds  are  passed ;  the 
jasmine  is  passed  ;  the  poppies  are  passed.  I  alone  am 
remaining  in  the  Garden  of  Faith.  I  am  the  thorn,  the 
most  miserable,  O  my  uncle. 

**  If  thou  art  good  to  the  orphan,  this  is  the  moment 
to  show  it.  Let  me  go  and  fight,  O  thou  whose  dust  is 
my  crown." 

The  Imam  Houssein  tries  to  console  him,  and  to  keep 
him,    but   the    boy   speaks   of  the   thirst    that   is 


292      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

devouring  all  the  People  of  the  Tent,  and  pointing 

to  the  basin  full  of  ivater,  exclaims — 

"  Cast  thy  gaze    upon    the    Celestial    River.       I  am 

dying   of   thirst.       Grant    me,    O    Proof  of  God,  a   full 

cup  of  the  water  of  Selsebyl  which  runs  in  the  Paradise 

which  awaits  me." 

Thus  the  conversation  goes  on,  the  7nother  of  Kasse77i 
taking  part  in  it.      Thereupon  Houssein  hands  to 
the  boy  a  paper  from  his  dead  father,  in  which  his 
marriage  with  Zobeida  is  ordered.     Houssein  in- 
vokes Mahomet,  Fatima,  and  Hassan. 
"  O  you  all  from   Heaven,  look  at  us.      I  am  uniting 
a  resplendent  moon  to  a  shining  sun,  and  now  the  word 
of  the  moment  is  what  dowry  can  I  give.     I  shall  replace 
the  splendour  of  jewels    by   another  splendour."     And 
Kasse?7t  adds  :   "  The   necklace    I    will  furnish  with  the 
blood  of  my  neck.     The  strewing  of  flowers  that   his 
noble  feet  are  to  tread,  I   shall  furnish  them  with  pieces 
of  my  body.     For  her  laces,  she  will  have  some  of  the 
colour  of  red  tulips." 

Imam  Houssein  [to  the  audience).  "  Bear  witness  all, 
to  these  excesses  of  misfortune ;  bear  witness  to  this 
marriage  of  sorrow." 

Upon  that  all  the  audience  plunged  into  loud 
lamentations. 

Zeyneb  announces  to  Zobeida  that  she  is  to  marry 
Kassem.  Then  follows  a  loitg  dialogue  between 
Imam  Houssein,  the  mother  of  Kassem  a7td 
Zeyneb ;    after   zvhich    Kasse77zs   7nother  goes   to 


PROCESSIONS  AND  THEATRES       293 

Omm-Leyla,  who  is  lamenting  over  the  body  of 
he7''  son,  AH  Akbar. 
Omm-Leyla.   "  My  AH  Akbar,  bough  without  leaves 
in  the  garden  of  my  heart,  Cypress  of  my  soul ! "     And 
to  Kassems  mother :    "  O  nightingale,  warble  what  you 
desire." 

The  mother  of  Kassem  invites  her  to  the  marriage, 

but  Omm-Leyla  has  only  thoughts  for  her  son. 
Omm-Leyla.   "  Look  at  my  poor  Ali  Akbar,  hacked 
to  pieces." 

The  mother  of  Kassem.  "  My  son  has  no  father  to 
keep  watch  over  his  head." 

Omm-Leyla  (to  the  audience).  "  Our  young  man,  my 
Ali  Akbar,  has  no  head." 

The  audience  howled  and  beat  their  chests  and 
heads.  And  while  their  dialogue  was  going  on  the 
two  mothers  covered  their  heads  with  the  chaff;  they 
had  very  prudently  taken  the  precaution  at  the  beginning 
of  the  play  to  make  little  heaps  of  it  beside  them  to  be 
handy. 

At  last  Imam  Houssein  from  his  throne  exclaims : 
"  Till  when  are  you  going  to  lament,  my  bulbuls  (night- 
ingales) ?  " 

The  women  and  the  boys  surround  Kassem,  who 
meanwhile  has  seated  himself  on  a  throne.  They 
sprinkle  him  with  rose  water,  put  bracelets  and 
necklaces  upon  him,  and  strew  sweetmeats  all 
round  him,. 
Zeyneb  (addressing  Zobeida).    "O   Zobeida-Fatima ! 


294      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

Put  on  a  golden  robe.  Allah's  bride  with  the  wounded 
heart,  adorn  thyself.  Let  us  thank  God  for  this  new 
bride  who  comes  to  kiss  the  eyes  of  Kassem." 

Zobeida  then  seats  herself  near  Kassem  with  a  golden 
veil  upon  her  head.  At  the  same  time  0mm- Ley  la 
adorns  the  body  of  her  dead  son  as  if  he  himself 
was  about  to  7narry. 

0  mm- Ley  la.  "  Ye  women,  who  cry  in  the  name  of  the 
Prophet,  bring  hither  the  nuptial  litter  of  AH  Akbar. 
The  autumn  has  come.  Sorrow  hath  withered  me. 
My  heart  is  ashes.  My  eyes  are  drowned.  All  the 
flowers  lift  up  their  heads  from  the  earth  except  my 
flower  which  droops  its  head." 

Imam  Houssein  goes  to  the  corpse^  and  everyone  covers 
his  head  with  chaff.  He  makes  a  long  speech  to 
the  body  of  AH  Akbar. 

0mm- Ley  la  (addressing  it).  "  Why  art  thou  so  dis- 
respectful to  thy  father.?  Why  dost  thou  remain  lying 
in  his  presence  ?  " 

Kassem  and  his  bride.  "Ali  Akbar,  where  art  thou.-* 
In  this  vile  world  thy  place  is  empty." 

Then  musicians  playing  flutes  and  tambourines, 
and  grooms  leading  horses  richly  caparisoned,  entered. 
Kassem  mounted  one  of  them,  and  was  led  ceremoni- 
ously by  the  boys  and  women,  with  the  exception  of 
Omm  -  Leyla.  Flowers  were  thrown  at  him  ;  the 
musicians  walked  behind  him  playing  funeral  airs  and 
preceding  a  litter  hung  with  black  which  was  to  bear 
Ali  Akbar  away. 


PROCESSIONS  AND  THEATRES        295 

At  that  moment  the  scene  was  supposed  to  change 
to  the  desert,  between  the  tents  of  the  Imams  and  the 
tent  of  the  troops  of  Yezid.  The  trumpets  sounded, 
the  drums  beat,  and  the  generals  of  Yezid,  Ibn-Said, 
and  Shamr  entered. 

They  wonder  what  the  noise  going   on   behind  the 
tents  can  be. 

Ibn-Satd.  "  Can  this  be  the  King  of  Faith  celebrating 
a  marriage  in  this  desert  ?  " 

Shamr  {ironically).  "  Permit  me  to  take  them  my 
congratulations."  He  addresses  in  an  insulting  voice 
sarcastic  compliments.  "O  Flower  of  the  Garden  of 
Creatures,  receive  my  good  wishes,  and  allow  me  to 
announce  that  thou  must  prepare  for  martyrdom." 

As  he  said  this,  he  and  Ibn-Said  cried  like  the  rest. 

It  happens  often  that  even  those  who  are  imper- 
sonating the  enemy  are  carried  away  by  the  general 
lamentation,  and  have  a  sensation  of  pity  in  spite  of 
the  parts  they  have  to  play. 

They  both  went  out,  and  the  Oustad  confided  to  the 
audience  that  the  scene  had  changed,  and  once  more 
represented  the  interior  of  the  tents  of  the  Imams. 

Then  came  a  charming  scene  between  Kassem  and 
Zobeida,   which  was  really  delightful. 

Kassem.  "God  guard  thee,  for  I  must  leave  thee, 
O  my  bride."     {He  kisses  her.) 

Zobeida  {7'e turning  his  caresses).  "Thou  whose  slender 
waist  is  like  that  of  the  cypress,  tread  gently,  gendy. 
Question  this  sad  moment." 


296      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

Kassem.  "  O  spray  of  blossoms.  Moan  like  the 
ni(;htingale,  gently,  gently.  Breathe  from  thy  heart  its 
passionate  sighs,  gently,  gently." 

Zobeida.  "  O  Son  of  my  Uncle,  the  vapours  of 
sorrow  whirl  in  my  soul.  Come,  is  it  thou?  Soothe 
the  fires  of  my  heart  gently,  gently." 

Kassem.  **  Thou,  whose  hyacinthine  locks  curl  like 
the  fruit  of  the  hazel  bush,  fill  with  tears  thine  eyes 
shaped  like  the  almond,  let  fall  the  wine  of  the  pome- 
granate on  the  leaf  of  the  rose,  gently,  gently." 

Zobeida.  "  Draw  nigh,  remain  one  little  moment :  the 
light  of  thy  countenance  is  a  torch  which  illuminates  us, 
all.  Let  me  hover  round  thee  as  a  moth  hovers  round 
the  light." 

Zobeida  passes  round  Kassem  performing  the  ancient 
rites  of  respect  and  affection.  Kassem  has  to  leave 
her ;  she  attempts  to  detain  him  by  the  skirt  of 
his  robe  and  by  endearing  words. 

Kassem  to  Imam  Houssein.  '*  O  King  without  an 
army.  Sovereign  whose  words  are  sweet,  arrange  thyself 
the  winding-sheet  round  the  body  of  thy  Kassem  of  the 
honied  lips." 

Imam  Houssein.  "  O  nightingale  of  the  divine 
orchard  of  martyrdom,  I  rend  thy  garment  as  one 
plucks  the  petals  from  a  rose.  Here  is  thy  winding- 
sheet.  I  kiss  thy  face,  that  moon  of  beauty.  There 
is  no  terror,  no  hope  but  in  God." 

The  Oustad  helped  Kassem  to  arrange  the  winding- 
sheet    round    his    shoulders   and    waist    as    the    Arabs 


PROCESSIONS  AND  THEATRES        297 

arrange  it  at  the  moment  of  engaging  in  a  mortal 
combat. 

Abd-Oullah  (a young  boy,  a  brother  of  Kassem,  tries  to 
stop  him\  "I  thought,"  says  he,  "that  for  the  day  of 
thy  espousals,  I  should  bear  in  front  of  thee  a  pair  of 
lighted  torches." 

Kassem.  "In  place  of  two  torches  of  joy,  thou  wilt 
kindle  the  lights  upon  my  tomb." 

Abd-Oullah.  "  To  whom  wilt  thou  entrust  thy  be- 
trothed.'*    My  heart  is  full  of  sorrow  for  her." 

Kassem.  "  I  leave  in  thy  hands  my  betrothed  that 
I  leave  thus  ill-supported  in  this  desert." 

Abd-Oullah.  "And  me,  to  whose  hands  wilt  thou 
confide  me,  whose  head  is  the  price  of  thy  feet  ? " 

Kassem.  "  I  shall  confide  thee,  O  my  brother,  to  the 
hands  of  our  august  uncle."  {To  Houssein.)  "O  my 
uncle,  my  uncle,  my  dear  uncle,  I  charge  thee  with 
Abd-Oullah."  {To  Zobeida.)  "  Come,  my  betrothed,  that 
I  may  look  on  thee  once  more ;  that  I  may  pluck  a 
flower  of  joy  from  the  garden  of  thy  face."  {They  kiss 
each  other.  ^ 

Kassem  and  Zobeida  to  the  audience.  "  Friends, 
deprived  of  those  that  you  loved,  weep  over  the 
separation." 

The  audience  answered  by  bursting  into  renewed 
lamentations,  the  women  making  a  whining  sob  at  the 
top  of  their  voices. 

Kassem.  "  Our  next  meeting  will  be  at  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  dead.     O  sacred  family,  farewell." 


298      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

0mm- Ley  la.  "  Ransom  of  my  soul,  O  my  beloved 
Kassem,  why  hast  thou  not  bidden  farewell  to  the  corpse 
of  my  AH  Akbar?" 

Kassem  to  the  corpse.  "  Ali  Akbar,  son  of  my  uncle, 
most  valiant,  so  young  and  yet  delivered  to  death. 
I,  young  like  thee,  am  without  hope.  Be  not  afflicted, 
for  I  follow  thee ! " 

0mm- Ley  la  to  Kassem.  "  When  thou  shalt  enter  with 
raining  eyes  into  the  Garden  of  Paradise,  kiss  for  me 
the  head  of  Ali  Akbar." 

There  was  a  burst  of  drums  and  trumpets :  a  groom 
brought  in  a  charger ;  Kassem  mounted  it  and  grasped 
his  shield. 

Enter  Ihi-Said  and  Soldiers. 

Kassem,  scimitar  in  hand,  to  the  enemy.  "  O  cunning 
and  ferocious  foes,  which  of  you  will  advance  and 
measure  swords  with  me  ?  I  also  am  a  royal  Fruit  of 
the  Tree.  I  also  am  an  ornament  and  a  Jewel  of  the 
Crown  and  of  the  Throne.  I  also  am  one  of  the  rays 
of  the  two  sovereign  Planets.  I  am  the  son  of  Hassan, 
the  nephew  of  Houssein." 

Another  blast  of  trumpets   and  thunder  of  drums. 
They  engage  in  combat,  and  exeunt  still  fighting. 

Imam  Houssein  {^seated  on  his  throne).  "O  orphans, 
cast  up  from  your  bodies  sighs  of  sorrow.  Lay  the 
Koran  upon  your  heads.  Prayers  for  Kassem  are  now 
an  imperious  need.  For  he  is  alone  in  the  batde,  and 
only  a  moment  ago  he  became  the  son-in-law  of 
Houssein." 


.a 


^ 


PROCESSIONS  AND  THEATRES        299 

All  the  women  and  boys  with  the  Koran  upon  their 
heads  shower  chaff  upon  their  heads. 

Imam  Houssein.  "  O  Lord  God,  for  the  sake  of  the 
Prophet ! " 

All  the  audience  cried  aloud  for  mercy.  ''Amanl 
Aman !  Aman ! " 

At  that  pathetic  point  the  planks  of  the  sakou  broke, 
and  Houssein  disappeared  into  the  fountain. 

Of  course  nobody  in  the  audience  laughed ;  it  was  far 
too  real  to  them,  and  the  submersion  accentuated  the 
catastrophe.  It  shows,  anyhow,  the  carelessness  of 
Persians.  They  never  take  the  trouble  to  do  a  thing 
quite  right ;  they  are  satisfied  if  a  thing  will  pass 
muster.  The  people  are  so  excited  that  some  accident 
always  happens  ;  if  the  actors  do  not  go  into  the  fountain, 
the  lamps  or  the  pictures  fall  on  the  audience. 

The  whole  court  resounded  with  the  shrill  yells  of  the 
women,  but  as  soon  as  anything  like  order  was  re- 
established, and  the  sakou  mended,  the  performance 
went  on. 

A  new  fanfare  was  heard,  and  Kassem  came  back, 
alighted  from  his  horse,  approached  Houssein,  and  was 
surrounded  by  women  and  boys. 

Kassem.  "  My  uncle,  thou  art  King,  Kassem  is  thy 
Chief  of  War.  Kassem  has  triumphed.  The  General 
of  the  Syrian  army,  Azrek,  has  been  overthrown  by  my 
sword,  bathed  in  his  blood.  Honour  Kassem  with  a 
present." 

Imam    Hotissein.     "  May     I     be     the     ransom     of 


300      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

the    strength    of     thy    arm.       What     present    wouldst 
thou  ?  " 

Kassem.   "The  only  present  I  crave  is  water." 

Imam  Houssein.   "  I  have  no  water." 

Kassem..  "If  I  could  only  moisten  my  lips,  I  could 
kill  all  the  men  of  Kufa." 

Imam  Houssein.  "  By  my  life  I  have  not  a  drop  of 
water." 

Kasseju.  "  If  it  were  lawful,  I  would  moisten  my  lips 
with  my  own  blood,  but  the  blood  is  impure — to  drink  it 
would  be  a  crime." 

Imam  Houssein.  "  Dear  boy,  what  can  I  do  against 
the  forbiddings  of  the  Prophet  ? " 

Kassem.  "  Pray,  I  beseech  thee,  that  my  lips  may  be 
just  moistened,  and  I  swear  I  shall  overcome  the  enemy." 

Imaju  Houssein  impressing  his  lips  against  those  of 
Hassan).   "  Go  now,  and    meiy  Ali,  son  of  Abou-taleb, 
lead  thee  in  the  right  way." 

The  mother  of  Kassem.  "  Stop,  my  darling,  not  yet  a 
man!  Thou  breakest  the  heart  of  thy  mother.  So 
quickly,  O  so  quickly  !  " 

Zobeida.  "  The  nuptial  chamber  has  become  a 
chamber  of  death,  O  son  of  my  uncle,  and  so  quickly,  O 
so  quickly  ! " 

Kassem.  "  Misfortune  !  Misfortune  !  From  every  side 
salt  falls  into  my  wounds.  From  one  side  the  lamenta- 
tions of  my  mother  set  my  head  on  fire,  from  another 
the  tears  of  my  betrothed  overwhelm  me  in  a  sea." 

Kassem  to  Zobeida.   "In  remembrance  of  me,  never 


PROCESSIONS  AND  THEATRES        301 

put  on  any  green  or  red  cloth.  Be  always  dressed  in 
black,  in  order  that  people  may  say,  her  husband  is  dead. 
However,  at  the  Resurrection  Day  we  shall  meet  again. 
I  bid  thee  good-bye." 

Shmnr  a7id  the  soldiers  appear  in  the  tekieh.  Kassem 
mounts  once  more  on  his  charger  and  draws  once 
more  his  scimitar.  The  trumpets  blare,  the 
drums  roll,  and  the  combat  recommences.  They 
all  go  out  fighting. 

Zobeida  {alone).  "  Thou  art  gone,  and  with  thee,  Son 
of  my  Uncle,  is  gone  my  happiness.  After  all,  my 
tenderness,  I  do  believe,  cannot  have  touched  thy  heart. 
O,  if  that  is  so,  do  not  think  of  me  the  disdained  who 
am  thy  spouse,  but  see  in  me  what  I  am  also,  the 
descendant  of  the  Prophet,  and  love  me  for  that." 

Kassem  (his  horse  is  covered  with  a  blood-stained 
caparison,  to  which  is  attached  a  quantity  of  pieces  of 
wood  painted  red,  representing  arrows.  Kassem  himself 
has  on  a  sort  of  shirt  also  stuck  with  arrows.  His 
helmet  has  been  struck  off  and  a  terrific  gash  is  painted 
on  his  forehead.  His  face  is  streaming  with  blood  and 
his  hands  are  ruddy  with  it.  He  has  lost  his  shield  and 
his  scimitar.  There  is  again  a  deafening  noise  of  drums 
and  trumpets).  "  O  Ali,  Master  of  the  trenchant  sword, 
help !     O  my  august  ancestor,  help !  " 

He  falls  down  and  dies. 

Shamr  {entering  and  brandishing  his  sword).  "  Fair 
spouse,  plunged  in  despair,  come  forth  from  thy  tent. 
Kassem  has  come  to  see  thee.     Come  !  " 


302      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

Imam  Housseiji.  "  Quick,  Zeyneb,  hasten  thee  here. 
Kassem  is  truly  married.  His  nuptials  have  become  the 
eternal  affliction  of  Kerbela.^  Come,  that  his  nuptial 
chamber  may  be  hung  in  black.  Tell  his  wife  to  put  on 
mournino-." 

o 

Zeyneb.  "  If  the  wife  puts  on  a  black  veil,  Kassem's 
mother  will  expire  with  the  shock.  How  can  I  drape 
with  black  the  nuptial  chamber?  May  Heaven  give  to 
the  winds  the  dust  of  my  life.  Arise,  my  dear  nephew, 
at  the  lamentations  of  my  voice.  After  all,  yes,  I  shall 
cover  thy  nuptial  chamber  with  black." 

Mother  of  Kassem.  "  Thou,  dear  to  Fatima,  O  Zeyneb, 
what  art  thou  going  to  do  ?  Hast  thou  learned  that  they 
have  killed  my  son }  " 

Zeyneb.  "Cover  thy  head  with  black,  O  my  sister 
with  torn  soul.  May  thy  life  be  preserved.  Thy  Kassem 
is  dead," 

Mother  of  Kassem.  *'  Alas,  my  fate  is  reversed  :  my 
son,  stolen  by  death,  has  fallen.  Come,  young  bride,  I 
am  in  despair.  Come,  young  bride  of  my  poor,  so  brave 
son,  that  I  may  put  a  black  veil  upon  thy  hair.  O 
Lord,  O  my  God,  may  there  never  be  another  mother 
like  me !     Fate  has  placed  my  hands  in   the  hands  of 


sorrow." 


Zobeida.  "  O  unhappy  Kassem.  May  I  be  the  ransom 
of  thy  faith.  Come  back  only  for  one  moment  to  this 
bridal   chamber,  where  thy  place   has  remained  empty. 

^  The    sanctuary   of   Kerbela   was  erected   in   commemoration   of  the 
slaughter  of  the  People  of  the  Tent  in  this  spot. 


PROCESSIONS  AND  THEATRES        303 

Rub  thy  hand,  gored  with  blood,  upon  my  eyes,  and  look 
what  is  more  red,  it  or  their  colour." 

Mother   of  Kassem   {to    07nm-Leyla).    "Salute,    O 
mother  of  a  young  man  carried  off  by  death." 

Omm-Leyla.   "  I  salute  thee,  my  forlorn  sister." 

Mother  of  Kassem.   "  Does  thy  affection  know  what 
has  happened  to  me  ?  " 

Onwt-Leyla,   "  May  I   die  for  thee— why  dost  thou 
weep  ? " 

Mother  of  Kassem.   "  Behold   at  our   side  this  new 
bride  dressed  in  black." 

Omm-Leyla.  "  What  is  it?     The  sorrow  has  clouded 
my  mind." 

Mother  of  Kassem.  "  My  fresh  blossom  has  been 
trampled  in  blood." 

Omm-Leyla.  "Now  thou  understandest  the  state  of 
my  heart." 

Mother  of  Kassem.  "  Kassem  so  young  has  been  the 
ransom  of  thy  beloved  Ali  Akbar." 

Omin-Leyla.  "  Ali  Akbar  has  been  the  ransom  of  the 
Shiites." 

Mother  of  Kassem.  "If  thou  desirest  to  weep,  come, 
let  us  band  ourselves  together,  and  think  from  henceforth 
of  nothing  else." 

At  that  moment,  the  play  being  ended,  all  the  actors 
got  up  and,  drawn  up  in  a  line,  pronounced  together  the 
following  prayer : — 

"  O  God,  never  part  the  hand  of  Victory.  This 
betrothed  from  the  hand  of  Muzaffer-ed-din  Shah,  the 


304       QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

sovereign,  the  seal  of  the  glory  of  Jemsheed.  May  he 
who  hath  organised  this  pathetic  meeting,  and  he  who 
comes  to  weep  at  it,  be  welcomed  by  thee  in  memory  of 
Mohammed,  the  seal  of  Prophecy.  May  the  women  be 
pardoned  for  Fatima,  the  men  for  Ali,  cupbearer  of  the 
Spring  of  Immortality  :  may  the  young  and  the  old  be 
pardoned  in  memory  of  Ali  Akbar  and  Kassem.  To  all 
actors,  O  God,  give  a  merciful  life." 

There  was  no  applause,  but  the  success  was  measured 
by  the  flow  of  tears  and  the  quantity  of  lamentations, 
which  that  day  had  been  plentiful. 

The  day  of  Ashoura — the  loth  of  the  Moharrem — 
is  the  climax  of  the  mourning  and  despair.  Everyone 
is  in  black.  Men  go  about  unshaved,  and  with  their 
clothes  rent,  their  shirts  torn  open  on  their  breasts,  and 
their  feet  naked.  Hordes  of  fanatics  walk  about,  crying 
and  beating  their  heads  and  their  chests.  The  worst 
of  them  go  about  in  files  bareheaded,  with  the  middle 
of  their  head  shaved  in  the  Persian  fashion.  They  are 
dressed  in  long  white  sheets,  and  have  swords  in  their 
right  hands  with  which  they  beat  the  tops  of  their  heads, 
and  make  wounds  till  the  blood  streams  all  over  their 
faces  and  shoulders.  Men  walk  behind  them  with  sticks 
to  break  the  force  of  the  stroke  when  they  see  that  it 
will  be  dangerous.  These  files  or  dasteks,  preceded 
by  a  Molla/i  of  the  lowest  class — for  the  higher  clergy 
condemn  these  barbaric  customs — oro  to  the  houses  of 
the  principal  personages,  who  have  the  bad  taste  to 
receive  them  and  make  presents   to  them.     They  give 


a 
c 
a 
<*■ 

ti 

3 
O 

u 

o 

c 
o 
'■5 
a 

3 

E 


PROCESSIONS  AND  THEATRES        305 

larg-e  sums  for  the  lonof  white  sheets  which  the  self- 
mutilators  have  drenched  with  their  blood.  Every  year 
nearly  a  dozen  of  these  unfortunate  and  misguided  men 
pay  the  penalty  of  their  fanaticism  with  their  lives. 

On  that  day  I  used  to  go,  like  a  few  Europeans, 
to  take  up  a  position  on  the  roof  of  the  bazars,  looking 
on  the  Sabz-Meidan,  where  all  the  processions  meet. 
I  always  took  care  to  go  through  the  back  streets,  for 
the  excitement  and  fanaticism  on  these  occasions  is  so 
violent  that  it  is  better  for  a  European  not  to  mix  with 
the  people. 

From  these  roofs  I  saw  all  the  processions  con- 
verging. When  two  dastehs  of  these  self-mutilators 
met,  they  came  to  blows,  and  had  to  be  parted  by  the 
crowd.  I  own  that  I  did  not  understand  the  mentality 
that  led  them  to  this  behaviour.  The  women  used  to 
shriek  terribly  when  this  happened,  for  quantities  of 
women  and  little  girls  come  to  the  Sabz-Meidan  to 
watch  that  repulsive  spectacle.  I  felt  ashamed  of  myself 
for  watching  it. 

The  governor  of  the  town  came  and  sat  under  the 
arches,  surrounded  by  his  retinue,  and  criminals  were 
brought  to  him  from  the  prisons  of  the  town.  For  the 
sake  of  the  Holy  Martyrs,  he  gave  them  their  freedom. 
As  they  were  set  free  their  first  gesture  to  express 
thankfulness  to  the  governor  as  well  as  the  Imams  was 
to  take  off  their  kolah,  catch  hold  of  one  of  the  daggers 
of  the  soldiers  of  the  guard,  and  slash  furiously  at  their 

heads  till  they  nearly  fainted. 

20 


306      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

Then  came  an  enormous  procession,  preceded  by 
standard  -  bearers,  carrying  long  staves  crowned  by 
bunches  of  ostrich  feathers,  or  gilt  cupolas  surmounted 
by  the  Hand  of  Fatima,  with  silk  trailers  hanging  down 
from  them,  and  platforms  bearing  representations  of  the 
mosque  of  Kerbela  or  the  tomb  of  the  Imam  Houssein. 

Then  all  the  personages  of  the  Tazichs  came  into 
the  procession  in  their  costumes  of  the  religious  drama. 
The  little  Ali  Akbar,  pierced  with  arrows,  was  borne 
on  a  bier  on  the  shoulders  of  men  dressed  as  Arabs 
to  represent  the  soldiers  of  the  Caliph  Yezid.  After 
him,  on  another  litter,  was  carried  a  stuffed  panther, 
over  which  were  two  white  doves,  kissing  each  other, 
which  has  an  allegorical  meaning,  like  the  figures  in- 
troduced into  the  frescoes  of  fables  of  the  Alexandrian 
Greek  period.  Then  followed  Imam  Abbas  on  horseback, 
transfixed  with  a  lance,  and  with  a  hatchet  embedded 
in  his  head  with  horrible  verisimilitude.  The  boy  who 
took  the  part  swayed  from  side  to  side,  as  if  he  was 
swooning  at  the  point  of  death. 

Kassem  came  next,  also  on  horseback,  pierced  with 
a  sword,  followed  by  all  the  other  dramatis  personam. 

The  crowd  watching  this  spectacle  was  deeply 
affected  ;  they  wept  passionately,  and  rent  their  garments. 
It  was  an  Old  Testament  Oberammergau. 


CHAPTER   XXX 


THE   BABIS 


The  Babi  religion  has  spread  widely  in  Persia,  though 
its  adherents  have  to  conceal  their  faith,  which  is  officially 
prohibited.  Its  tenets  and  history  form  too  large,  and 
perhaps  too  recondite,  a  subject  to  be  treated  in  these 
pages.  Readers  can  find  what  they  require  about  them 
admirably  handled  in  the  pages  of  A.  L.  M.  Nicolas 's 
Seyyed  AH  Mohammed  dit  le  Bab  (Dujarric,  Paris)  and 
Mr.  E.  G.  Browne's  various  publications. 

To  show  the  inquisitorial  vengeance  to  which  the 
unhappy  Babis  have  been  subjected,  I  cannot  do  better 
than  give  a  translation  of  an  article  which  appeared  in 
the  Official  Gazette  of  the  Persian  Government,  relative 
to  the  attempt  by  the  Babis  upon  the  Shah's  life. 

The  account,  coming  from  an  enemy  of  the  Babis, 
tries  to  show  them  at  their  worst,  but  its  naive  admissions 
only  serve  to  bring  out  the  high  ideals  and  heroism,  of 
the  Babi  martyrs,  and  the  cold  cruelty  and  bigotry  of 
their  persecutors.     The  article  convicts  its  authors. 

"In  our  last  number,  in  giving  briefly  an  account  of 
the  attempt  upon  the  life  of  the  Shah,  we  have  promised 
our  readers   to   supply  them   with    the  after   results   of 

307 


308      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  TERSTA 

this  lamentable  affair,  and  to  let  them  know  the  result 
of  the  inquiries  made  to  discover  the  motives  of  this 
vast  conspiracy,  directed  not  only  against  the  life  of 
our  beloved  sovereign,  but  also  against  the  public  peace, 
and  against  the  property  and  lives  of  true  Mussulmans. 
For  the  real  aim  of  these  malefactors  was,  in  getting 
rid  of  the  person  of  the  King,  to  seize  the  power,  and 
by  this  detestable  means  to  secure  at  last  the  triumph 
of  their  abominable  cause,  in  forcing,  by  arms  and 
violence,  the  good  Mussulmans  to  embrace  their  in- 
famous religion,  which  differs  from  that  sent  down  from 
Heaven,  and  which  does  not  accord  either  with  philo- 
sophy or  human  reason — which  is,  in  fine,  the  most 
deplorable  heresy  that  has  ever  been  heard  of,  as  may 
be  gathered  from  certain  of  their  books  and  pamphlets 
which  we  have  been  able  to  procure. 

"  The  founder  of  this  abominable  sect,  who  began 
to  propagate  these  detestable  doctrines  only  a  few 
years  ago,  and  who,  having  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
the  authorities,  was  immediately  shot,  was  called  Ali 
Mohammed,  and  had  given  himself  the  surname  of 
Bab,^  wishing  to  give  people  to  understand  by  this  that 
the  keys  of  Paradise  were  in  his  hands. 

"  After  the  death  of  the  Bab,  his  disciples  met  soon 
under  the  orders  of  another  chief,  Sheikh  Ali  of  Turshiz, 
who  assumed  the  position  of  nayeb  (vicar)  of  the  Bab, 
and  had  imposed  it  on  himself  to  live  in  complete 
solitude,    showing    himself    to    nobody,     and    granting 

*  Bab  means  gate. 


THE  BABIS  309 

audiences  to  his  principal  followers  only  at  rare  intervals. 
They  regarded  this  favour  as  the  greatest  that  Heaven 
could  confer  on  them.  He  had  given  himself  the  sur- 
name of  Hazret  Azem,  the  Highest  Highness. 

"Among  the  people  who  were  attached  to  him  one 
may  mention  first  Hadji  Suleiman  Khan,  son  of  the 
late  Yah- Yah  Khan  of  Tabriz.  It  was  in  the  house 
of  this  Suleiman  Khan,  in  Teheran,  in  the  quarter 
Sar-i-Cheshmeh,  that  the  principal  Babis  used  to  meet 
to  deliberate  upon  their  hateful  projects.  Twelve 
amongst  them,  who  appeared  more  zealous  and  deter- 
mined than  the  others,  were  chosen  by  Hazret  Azem, 
who  had  the  necessary  arms  given  to  them  to  execute 
the  great  act  that  he  believed  to  be  unavoidable.  Pistols, 
daggers,  cutlasses,  nothing  was  spared,  and,  armed  in 
this  way,  it  seemed  impossible  for  them  to  miss  their 
prey. 

"  They  were  recommended  to  stand  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Niavaran,  and  to  wait  for  a  favourable 
opportunity. 

"We  may  refer  our  readers  to  our  last  number  ;  they 
will  see  in  it  how  three  of  these  madmen  have  taken 
advantage  of  the  circumstance  which  presented  itself  on 
Sunday  the  28th  of  Chavval,  at  the  moment  when 
His  Majesty,  having  gone  out  of  the  town,  directed 
himself,  with  his  ordinary  suite,  towards  the  village 
where  he  was  in  the  habit  of  going  for  his  hunting 
parties.  They  will  see  how  they  flung  themselves 
upon  the  King,  one  after  the  other,  firing  their  pistols 


310      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT^PERSIA 

nearly  point-blank  at  His  Majesty;  how  one  of  them 
was  immediately  slain  by  people  of  well-known  zeal 
and  devotion,  such  as  Assad  Oullah-Khan,  first  equerry 
of  the  King,  Mustofi-el-Memalek,  Nizam-oul-Moulk,  the 
Keshikchi-Bashi,  and  other  persons  who  were  near  His 
Majesty ;  how  at  last  the  two  others  were  seized  and 
thrown  into  the  prison  of  the  town. 

"  An  inquiry  was  at  once  made  into  the  case,  and  put 
into  the  hands  of  Adjutant  Bashi  Hadjeb-ed-Dowleh, 
the  Kalentar  (Minister  of  Police),  and  the  Kedkhodas 
of  the  town  (a  sort  of  municipal  councillors). 

"  Thanks  to  the  zeal  and  the  activity  that  they  showed 
in  their  inquiries,  they  soon  learned  that  the  house  of 
Suleiman- Khan  was  used  as  the  place  of  meeting  by 
these  wretches.  It  was  immediately  surrounded  on  all 
sides  ;  but  whether  by  the  neglect  of  the  men  of  Hadjeb- 
ed-Dowleh,  or  by  the  lack  of  cohesion  in  the  execution 
of  this  enterprise,  they  succeeded  in  catching  only  twelve, 
amongst  them  Suleiman- Khan.  The  others  effected 
their  escape,  one  does  not  know  exacdy  how.  But 
their  accomplices  having  named  several  of  them,  the 
police,  it  may  be  hoped,   will  soon  trace  them. 

"  However,  not  a  single  day  passed  without  the 
Adjutant- Bashi  of  the  Kalentar  and  the  ferrashes  of 
the  King  capturing  three,  four,  or  even  five  Babis,  whom 
they  quickly  brought  before  the  Imperial  divan  or 
tribunal,  which  in  such  a  case  is  held  in  public. 

"They  were  interrogated  at  once,  and  condemned 
upon  their  own  evidence,   as   well  as  on   the  denuncia- 


THE  BABIS  311 

tlons   of  their   accomplices,    whom    they    took    care    to 
confront  with  them. 

"  These  interrogatories  were  made  in  accordance  with 
the  customs  and  forms  laid  down  by  the  law. 

"  We  must  not  omit  here  to  recall  the  immense  service 
that  Hadjeb-ed-Dowleh  has  rendered  to  the  Faith,  to 
the  State,  and  to  Religion,  in  capturing  Mollah  Sheikh 
Ali  of  Turchiz,  in  spite  of  all  the  precautions  that  he 
took  not  to  be  seen  in  public,  and  in  spite  of  the  retired 
and  secretive  life  which  he  did  not  cease  to  lead  till  the 
moment  of  his  arrest.  By  his  flight  from  the  town  he 
had  expected  to  find  a  shelter  against  all  pursuit ;  he 
had  hidden  himself  in  a  litde  house  at  Evine  in  the 
Shimran. 

**  He  lived  there,  surrounded  by  some  faithful  disciples, 
who,  like  himself,  had  succeeded  in  escaping  from  the 
house  of  Suleiman  Khan  at  the  moment  that  it  was 
surrounded. 

"  It  is  in  this  house  that  Hadjeb-ed-Dowleh,  accom- 
panied by  his  men,  succeeded  in  surprising  them  at  the 
moment  when  they  expected  it  least.  The  Babis  were 
seized,  manacled,  and  thrown  into  the  prisons  of  the 
town. 

"  His  Excellency  the  Grand  Vizier,  Mirza  Aga  Khan, 
had  the  satisfaction  of  interrogating  himself  the  chief  of 
this  hateful  sect.  He  made  him  appear  before  him 
with  the  disciples  taken  at  the  same  time  as  this  wretch, 
and  questioned  him  in  their  presence.  Mollah  Sheikh 
Ali  of  Turchiz  did  not  attempt  to  excuse  himself.     He 


312      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

avowed  that  he  had  become  the  chief  of  the  Babis 
since  the  death  of  the  Bab ;  that  he  had  given  the 
order  to  his  most  devoted  disciples  to  kill  the  King. 
He  declared  even  that  Mohammed  Sadek,  who  had 
precipitated  himself  the  first  on  the  King,  was  his  con- 
fidential servant,  and  that  he  had  provided  himself  the 
necessary  arms  to  execute  the  regicides'  project.  The 
number  of  these  wretches  who  had  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  justice  does  not  exceed  thirty-two.  As  for  the  others, 
the  police  have  not  been  able  to  find  them,  and  it  is 
believed  that  they  have  crossed  the  frontiers  of  Persia 
and  gone  to  lead  a  wretched  life  in  a  foreign  land. 

"  We  impose  upon  ourselves  the  task  of  pointing  out  to 
our  readers  the  admirable  conduct  of  His  Excellency  the 
Minister  of  Russia  on  this  occasion. 

"  One  of  these  damnable  conspirators,  Mirza  Houssein 
Ali,  had  taken  refuge  at  Zerghandeh  in  the  summer 
quarters  of  the  Russian  Legation.  The  Prince  Dol- 
gorouki,  having  learnt  that  this  individual  was  amongst 
the  conspirators,  had  him  seized  by  his  own  people  and 
sent  to  the  Ministers  of  His  Majesty,  who,  touched  by 
an  action  so  in  conformity  with  the  good  relations  that 
existed  between  Persia  and  Russia,  evinced  their  pro- 
found gratitude  to  him.  His  Majesty  himself  had  his 
thanks  conveyed  to  the  prince,  and  gave  orders  that 
the  people  who  had  been  entrusted  with  conveying  the 
culprit  to  custody  should  be  worthily  recompensed,  which 
was  done  without  delay. 

"  Amongst  the  Babis  who  have  fallen  into  the  hands 


THE  BABIS  313 

of  justice,  there  are  six  whose  culpabiHty  not  having  been 
well  established,  have  been  condemned  to  the  galleys  for 
life.  The  others  have  all  been  massacred  in  the  following 
ways : — 

*'  Mollah  Sheik  AH  of  Turchiz,  the  author  of  this 
conspiracy,  has  been  condemned  to  death  by  the  Ulemas 
or  religious  judges,  and  put  to  death  by  them. 

"  Seyyed  Houssein  Khorassani  was  killed  by  the 
princes  of  the  blood,  who  massacred  him  with  pistol- 
shots,  scimitars,  and  daggers. 

"Mustafi-el-Memalek  took  charge  of  the  execution  of 
Mollah  Zeyine-el-Abedin,  Yezdi,  whom  he  killed  with 
pistol-shots  fired  point  blank,  after  which  the  Mustafis  of 
the  Divan,  throwing  themselves  upon  the  corpse,  riddled 
it  with  pistol-shots  and  stabs  of  sword,  dagger,  and 
cutlass. 

"  Mollah  Houssein  Khorassani  was  killed  by  Mirza 
Kassem  Nizam  Oul-Moulk  and  by  Mirza  Said  Khan, 
Minister  of  Public  Affairs.  Mirza  Kassem  was  the  first  to 
approach  the  condemned,  and  shot  him  with  his  pistol  point 
blank.  Then  Mirza  Said  Khan  approached  in  his  turn 
and  fired  another  pistol.  At  last  the  servants  of  these 
two  high  functionaries  threw  themselves  on  the  corpse, 
which  they  hacked  to  pieces  with  knives  and  daggers. 

"Mirza  Abdoul  Wahab  of  Shiraz,  who  during  his 
sojourn  in  Kazemein  had  rendered  himself  guilty  in  the 
eyes  of  the  authorities  by  inciting  the  inhabitants  to 
revolt,  was  put  to  death  by  Jaffar  Kouli-Khan,  brother 
of  the  Grand  Vizier,  by  Zulfe-Khar  Khan,  by  Moussa 


314      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

Khan,  and  by  Mirza  Aly  Khan,  all  three  sons  of  the 
Grand  Vizier,  assisted  by  their  servants  and  the  guards 
of  the  King  and  the  other  people  present  at  the  execution, 
some  using  pistols,  others  rifles,  others  daggers  of  all  sorts, 
so  that  the  corpse  of  this  wretched  man  was  reduced  to 
mincemeat. 

"  Mollah  Fcthoulhah,  son  of  Mollah  Aly,  the  book- 
binder, the  man  who,  shooting  at  the  King  with  a  pistol 
loaded  with  lead,  slightly  wounded  His  Majesty,  had  his 
body  covered  with  holes,  in  which  lighted  candles  were 
stuck.  Then  Hadjeb-ed-Dowleh  received  the  order  to 
kill  him  with  a  pistol-shot,  which  he  did  by  shooting  at 
the  exact  spot  of  the  body  where  His  Majesty  had  been 
wounded.  He  fell  stone  dead.  Then  the  ferrashes  of 
the  King  threw  themselves  on  the  body  and  hacked  it  to 
pieces  and  heaped  stones  upon  it. 

"  Sheikh  Abbas  of  Teheran  has  been  sent  to  the  bottom 
of  hell  by  the  Khans  and  other  dignitaries  of  the  State, 
who  killed  him  with  pistols  and  swords. 

'•  Mohammed  Taghi  of  Shiraz  had  horseshoes  nailed 
to  his  feet  first,  like  a  horse,  by  Ased-oullah-Khan,  first 
equerry  of  His  Majesty,  and  by  the  employees  of  the 
Imperial  stables.  Then  he  was  beaten  to  death  with 
maces  and  with  the  great  nails  of  iron  which  are  used  in 
the  stables  to  fasten  the  horses  to. 

"  Mohammed  Aly  of  Nejef-Abad  was  handed  over  to 
the  Artillery  men,  who  first  of  all  tore  out  one  of  his  eyes, 
then  bound  him  over  the  muzzle  of  a  gun  and  blew  him 
to  pieces. 


THE  BABIS  315 

"  As  to  Hadji  Suleiman  Khan,  son  of  Yah-Yah  Khan 
of  Tabriz,  and  Hadji  Kassem,  also  of  Tabriz,  they  were 
marched  through  the  town  of  Teheran  with  their  bodies 
stuck  with  candles,  accompanied  by  dancers  and  by  the 
music  of  the  Evening,  which  is  composed  of  long  horns 
and  huge  drums,  and  were  followed  by  a  crowd  of  the 
curious,  who  wished  to  stone  them,  but  were  prevented 
by  th^  f err  ashes. 

"  Suleiman  Khan,  when  one  of  the  candles  fell,  sank 
and  picked  it  up,  and  restored  it  to  its  place.  Somebody 
having  cried,  *  You  sing,  why  don't  you  dance  ? '  Suleiman 
began  to  dance. 

"  Once  out  of  the  town,  the  ferraskes,  executing  the 
orders  which  had  been  given  them,  cut  them  both  into  four 
pieces,  which  they  hung  over  various  gates  of  the  town. 

"  Nejef  of  Khamseh  was  abandoned  to  the  fury  of  the 
mob,  who  beat  him  to  pieces  with  their  fists  and  stones. 

"  Hadji  Mirza  Djami,  merchant  of  Kachan,  was  killed 
by  the  Provost  of  the  Merchants  of  Teheran,  assisted  by 
the  merchants  and  shopkeepers." 

The  above  is  the  official  Persian  account.  Comte  de 
Gobineau,  who  was  Minister  of  France  to  the  Court  of 
Teheran  at  that  time,  tells  us — 

"  One  saw  that  day  in  the  streets  and  bazars  of 
Teheran  a  spectacle  that  the  population  will  never  forget. 
One  saw,  walking  between  staffs  of  executioners,  children 
and  women,  with  the  flesh  gaping  all  over  their  bodies, 
with  lighted  wicks  soaked  with  oil  stuck  in  the  wounds. 
The  victims  were  dragged  by    cords   and    driven    with 


31G      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

whips.  The  children  and  women  walked  singing  a 
verse,  which  says,  *  In  truth  we  come  from  God,  and  we 
return  to  Him.'  Their  voices  rose  piercingly  in  the 
middle  of  the  profound  silence  of  the  mob ;  for  the 
population  of  Teheran  is  neither  bad-hearted  nor  much 
devoted  to  Islam.  When  one  of  the  tortured  people  fell, 
he  was  forced  to  rise  with  blows  from  whips  and  prods 
from  bayonets.  If  the  loss  of  blood  which  ensued  from 
the  wounds  all  over  the  body  left  him  strength  enough,  he 
began  to  dance  and  shout  with  fervour,  '  We  belong  to 
God,  and  we  return  to  Him.'  Some  of  the  children 
expired  en  rotite.  The  executioners  threw  their  bodies 
under  the  feet  of  their  father  and  sister,  who  walked 
fiercely  upon  them,  without  looking. 

*'  When  they  arrived  at  the  place  of  execution  near  the 
new  gate,  life  was  again  offered  to  the  victims  if  they 
would  abjure  their  faith,  and,  though  it  seemed  difficult, 
means  were  sought  to  intimidate  them.  The  executioner 
hit  upon  the  device  of  signing  to  a  father  that  if  he  did 
not  abjure  he  would  cut  the  throat  of  his  two  sons  upon 
his  chest.  These  were  two  small  boys,  the  eldest  being 
fourteen,  who,  red  with  their  own  blood  and  with  flesh 
scorched  by  the  candles,  listened  unmoved.  The  father 
answered  by  lying  down  on  the  earth  that  he  was  ready, 
and  the  eldest  of  the  boys,  claiming  his  right  of  birth, 
begged  to  have  his  throat  cut  first.  It  is  not  impossible 
that  the  executioner  refused  him  this  last  satisfaction. 
At  last  everything  was  ended,  and  the  night  fell  upon  a 
heap   of    mangled    human    remains.     The   heads   were 


THE  BABIS  317 

strung  in  bundles  to  the  Posts  of  Justice,  and  all  the  dogs 
of  the  suburbs  made  their  way  to  that  side  of  the 
town. 

"  This  day  gave  to  the  Bab  more  secret  partisans  than 
many  preachings  could  have  done." 


CHAPTER    XXXI 

SUPERSTITIONS,    ASTROLOGERS,    DJINNS 

Superstition  is  of  no  age,  it  is  as  old  as  humanity.  All 
peoples  have,  one  after  the  other,  been  bound  to  it,  but 
nowhere  has  it  rooted  itself  so  deeply  as  in  the  East. 
The  Easterns  feel  the  need  of  a  world  that  contains  all 
the  wonders  created  by  their  imagination ;  they  feel  the 
weight  of  that  world  upon  their  heads  ;  they  struggle 
against  the  perpetual  impression  of  mystery  ;  they  look  for 
something  beyond  the  ordinary  life  ;  they  keep  their  eyes 
open  to  that  other  world  ;  they  seem  more  interested  in  it 
than  in  what  is  going  on  upon  earth.  They  fear  to  miss 
God  or  to  be  missed  by  God. 

So,  in  their  interest  in  the  mystery,  they  try  to  give  a 
meaning  to  cosmic  phenomena  as  well  as  to  the  least 
manifestation  which  occurs  in  everyday  life. 

More  than  two  thousand  years  ago,  the  shepherds 
who  drove  their  herds  across  the  plains  of  Chaldea  tried 
to  decipher  the  skies,  while  the  hereditary  science  of  the 
Magi  knew  how  to  number  the  farthest  stars.  The 
extraordinary  limpidity  of  atmosphere  has  certainly  been 
an  invitation  to  these  studies,  for  in  Persia  the  stars  shine 
marvellously  and  seem  to  be  nearer  the  earth.     They 

218 


SUPERSTITIONS,  ASTROLOGERS       319 

look  exactly — as  the  Persians  say — as  if  they  were 
hanging  like  lamps  from  the  deep  crystal  vault  of  the 
skies. 

The  Persia  of  to-day  has  no  less  faith  in  the  science 
of  astrology.  The  Mounajim,  or  astrologers,  reading  the 
^tars  and  telling  fortunes,  enjoy  there  great  consideration, 
in  spite  of  Mahomet,  who  cautioned  the  Faithful  against 
those  whom  he  classes  as  "speculating  upon  public 
credulity."  "Astrologers  lie,"  says  he  in  the  Koran; 
"  I  swear  it  by  the  God  of  the  Kaaba." 

They  have  access  to  the  palace,  where  the  richest 
presents  are  given  for  their  consultations,  but  do  not 
disdain  the  petty  remuneration  of  the  poor. 

They  enjoy  the  absolute  confidence  of  the  grandees, 
many  of  whom  let  them  direct  the  minutest  details  of 
their  lives,  doing  nothing  without  being  told  if  the  omens 
are  favourable. 

It  is  sufficient  to  look  at  their  calendar  to  understand 
their  procedure :  the  years  are  divided  into  cycles  of 
twelve,  the  Turkish  ouigour,  consisting  of — 


Sitchqan  yil     . 

Year  of  the  rat. 

Cud  yil  . 

ox. 

Bars  yil  . 

leopard. 

Tavichqan  yil. 

rabbit. 

Loui  yil  . 

crocodile 

Yilan  yil. 

serpent. 

Yiount  yil 

horse. 

Qouijyil  . 

sheep. 

320      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 


Pitch!  yil 

Year  of  the  monkey. 

Tehhaqou  yil  . 

„     „       hen. 

Ait  yil     . 

,,     M       dog. 

Tengouz  yil    . 

„     ,,       pig. 

Each  year  has  its  special  attribute.  The  year  of  the 
rabbit,  for  example,  will  have  plenty  of  rain  ;  the  baby 
born  in  its  first  period  will  be  endowed  with  a  striking 
cleverness  and  a  great  truthfulness. — But  there  must  be 
a  bad  fairy  presiding  at  the  birth  of  Persians,  who  takes 
away  one  of  these  gifts,  and  generally  the  second  one. — 
In  the  second  period  he  will  be  born  ddsdquilibrd — 
without  balance ;  in  the  third,  with  the  gift  of  sciences. 
And  so  on  for  each  year. 

This  calendar  contains  instructions  for  everything  that 
must  be  done  at  the  beginning  of  each  month  to  pass  it 
without  accident  or  illness.  When  you  perceive  the  first 
moon  of  the  month  of  Redjeb,  you  must  immediately  look 
at  a  turquoise,  an  agate,  some  vegetables,  or  running 
water ;  at  the  first  moon  of  the  month  of  Sefer,  a  mirror, 
o-old,  or  silver  ;  at  the  first  moon  of  Ramazan,  a  ring,  a 
sword,  some  armour,  fire,  or  the  Koran.  And  so  on  for 
each  month. 

There  are  also  repertories  which  show  the  connection 
of  each  action  with  the  day  in  which  it  ought  to  be 
accomplished,  and  the  result  of  its  being  done  on  such  or 
such  a  day.  For  example,  to  drop  a  pen,  see  a  snake, 
hear  the  singing  of  a  bulbul,  feel  the  rubbing  of  a  cat, 
have  a   bad   dream,  have  a  bleeding    nose,  laugh,  cry, 


SUPERSTITIONS,  ASTROLOGERS       321 

sleep,  may  signify,  according  to  the  case,  felicity  or 
unhappiness.  In  them  you  can  find  also  the  best  day  to 
transcribe  a  prayer  to  avoid  the  bite  of  a  scorpion,  to 
put  on  a  new  suit  of  clothes,  to  go  out  shooting,  to  ask 
for  an  audience  of  a  governor  or  of  the  Shah.  One  day 
is  good  for  marrying,  another  for  watering  your  garden  ; 
another  is  only  good  for  doing — nothing  at  all.  And  so 
on  for  each  day. 

The  astrologer  is  the  master  of  the  secret  science. 
He  advises  the  traveller  about  his  journey,  the  sick  man 
upon  the  choice  of  his  doctor  and  the  application  of  his 
medicines ;  he  can  scent  a  robber,  and  drive  him  to  such 
a  state  of  fright  that  he  makes  restitution  of  the  thing 
robbed. 

Malcolm    tells   us   that    "in    1806,  when   a    Persian 

ambassador   was   about   to    proceed   to    India,    he    was 

informed  by  his  astrologer  of  a  most  fortunate  conjunction 

of  the  stars,   which,  if  missed,   was  not  likely  to  occur 

again  for  some  months.     He  determined  that,  though  he 

could  not  embark,  as  the  ship  was  not  ready,  to  move 

from  his  house  at   Abusheher  to  his  tents,  which  were 

pitched  at  a  village  five  miles  off.     It  was  discovered, 

however,  by  the  astrologer  that  he  could  neither  pass 

through  the  door  of  his  own  dwelling  nor  the  gate  of  the 

fort,  as  an  invisible  but  baneful  constellation  was  exactly 

opposite,  and  shed  dangerous  influence  in  that  direction. 

To  remedy  this,  a  large  aperture  was  made  in  the  wall 

of  his  house,  but  that  opened  into  his  neighbour's,  and 

four  or  five  more  walls  were  to  be  cut  through  before  the 
21 


322      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  TERSIA 

ambassador  and  his  friends  (including  the  principal  men 

who  were  to   accompany  him)  could    reach  the   street. 

They  then  went  to  the  beach,  where  it  was  intended  to 

take  a  boat  and  proceed  two  miles  by  sea,  in  order  that 

their  backs  might  be  turned  on  the  dreaded  constellation  ; 

but  the  sea  was  rough,   and  the  party  hesitated  about 

encountering  a  real  danger  to  avoid  an  imaginary  one. 

In  this  dilemma  the  governor  was  solicited  to  let  a  part 

of  the  wall  of  the  town  be  thrown  down,  that  a  mission 

on  which  so  much  depended  might  not  be  exposed  to 

misfortune.     The  request,  extraordinary  as  it  may  appear, 

was  complied  with,  and  the  cavalcade  marched  over  this 

breach    to    their   tents.     The  astrologer  rode   near   the 

ambassador    that  he    might    continually  remind  him    to 

keep  his  head  in  one  position  :  by  his  aid  he  reached  his 

tents  without  any  occurrence  to  disturb  the  good  fortune 

which  was  augured  to  result  from  his  having  left  his  home 

at  the  propitious  moment." 

Astrology  is  studied  with  the  seriousness  and  the 
method  which  would  be  applied  in  our  country  to  precise 
sciences  like  mathematics  or  geography,  and  it  is  only 
after  years  of  laborious  application  that  the  student, 
however  gifted,  can  become  a  master  in  the  art.  The 
Koran  tells  us — 

"  God  has  created  seven  heavens  and  seven  earths. 
He  makes  them  obey  His  voice  that  you  may  know  that 
His  power  is  without  limits,  and  that  the  Universe  is 
full  of  His  Science"  (Koran,  chap.  Ixv.  ver.  12). 

These  seven  heavens  and  earths  are   distant   from 


SUPERSTITIONS,  ASTROLOGERS      323 

one  another  five  hundred  days'  journey.  All  are  in- 
habited. 

The  Koran  also  says — 

"We  have  placed  signs  in  the  firmament  and  we 
have  disposed  them  in  order  to  satisfy  the  eye.  We 
defend  them  against  the  attempts  of  the  devils  by 
piercing  the  devils  with  darts.  If  a  devil  dares  to 
penetrate  furtively  in  them  to  hear,  he  will  be  pursued 
by  the  flames." 

These  signs  are  the  signs  of  the  Zodiac. 

Mohammedans  believe  that  before  Mahomet  the  devils 
climbed  into  the  signs  of  the  Zodiac,  where  they  listened 
to  the  discourses  of  the  angels  and  then  revealed  them 
to  the  magicians  and  astrologers.  When  Mahomet  was 
born,  God  drove  them  away  from  the  celestial  spheres, 
and  forbade  them  to  listen  to  the  secrets  of  heaven. 
Some  of  them  still  try  to  get  in,  but  are  repelled  with 
darts  of  fire.  Meteors  are  supposed  to  be  the  fire 
darts  which  God  throws  at  the  devils  who  try  to  climb 
into  the  Zodiac. 

It  is  about  the  interpretation  of  dreams  that  the 
astrologers  are  most  often  consulted.  They  classify 
the  dreams  in  three  separate  categories: — (i)  Dreams 
reproducing  or  having  reference  to  impressions  received 
when  awake.  (2)  Dreams  that  are  caused  by  bad 
health :  if  they  arise  from  indigestion,  which  the 
Persians  call  heart-full,  the  vision  will  be  red  ;  it  may 
take  the  form  of  blood,  flames,  or  perhaps  simply 
tomatoes.     If  it  is  from  biliousness,  the  predominating 


324      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

colour  will  be  saffron,  and  the  vision  may  take  the 
form  of  a  marigold,  a  brass  basin,  or  the  sun. 
Melancholia  will  bring  visions  dark  and  black,  from 
the  banal  ink  to  the  most  frightful  abysses  of  hell. 
(3)  Dreams  which  are  evoked  by  the  World  of 
Similitudes  i^Aalam-i-mithal).  In  these  dreams  you 
see  unknown  countries,  strange  animals,  and  fantastic 
human  beings,  and  very  often  these  are  suggested  by 
legends  which  take  form  during  the  sleep,  or  you  simply 
see  people,  or  you  see  things  which  might  happen  in 
the  ordinary  life  but  have  not  happened.  And  all  that 
opens  a  large  horizon  to  the  interpretations  of  astrologers. 
The  World  of  Similitudes  has  been  catalogued  in  such 
a  way  that  each  human  being,  each  thing,  and  often 
each  abstraction,  has  its  appropriate  form.  If  you 
dream,  for  instance,  of  a  wolf  which  is  drinking  milk, 
it  signifies  that  your  enemy  knows  everything  about 
you,  because  the  appropriate  form  of  an  enemy  is  a 
wolf,  and  the  appropriate  form  of  science  is  milk. 

But  notwithstanding  the  spell  which  surrounds  the 
astrologers,  they  do  not  always  escape  raillery,  and  their 
science  is  sometimes  proved  to  be  at  fault.  They  can  be 
deceived  themselves,  as  is  shown  in  the  following  tale : — 

A  young  man  was  commissioned  to  engage  and 
distract  an  astrologer  whilst  his  comrade  was  courting 
the  astrologer's  wife  in  the  enderoun.  He  asked  him, 
"  O  you  7no2maji7n  of  the  7nou7iajims,  having  heard  of 
your  unique  science,  I  want  you  to  tell  me  if  the  day 
is  come  for  my  journey  to  Meshed,  where    I   want    to 


SUPERSTITIONS,  ASTROLOGERS      325 

visit  the  shrine  of  the  Imam  Reza — God  bless  him." 
The  astrologer  took  out  his  books  and  his  tables,  and 
began  to  calculate.  After  many  inspired  calculations 
and  inspired  looks  at  the  skies,  he  said,  putting  great 
emphasis  upon  the  names  of  the  planets,  **  Saturn  is 
in  Aries — that  is  not  bad  ;  but  Venus  is  in  opposition 
to  Saturn — that  is  bad.  And,  worst  of  all.  Mercury  is 
falling  into  the  Scorpion !  You  had  better  remain  here, 
for  your  journey  under  such  bad  auspices  would  only 
bring  you  bad  luck,  or  perhaps  illness,  or  even  death." 

The  young  man  congratulated  him  upon  his  know- 
ledge, but  added,  "  Do  you  know  as  much  about  what 
is  going  on  on  earth?"  "Why  not?  Do  you  want 
to  know  what  is  going  on  at  Stamboul  or  at  the  Court 
of  the  King  of  Franghistan  ?  "  "  No,  not  so  far.  If  you 
only  knew  what  is  going  on  next  door  in  your  enderoun^ 
that  would  certainly  have  a  more  immediate  interest  to 
you  than  the  most  striking  conjunction  of  the  planets." 

The  astrologers  also  study  astronomy.  The 
Ptolemaic  system  is  still  their  guide  for  the  evolution 
of  the  heavenly  bodies.  They  know  all  the  planetary 
systems,  calculate  the  eclipses  and  know  their  causes, 
whilst  the  popular  ignorance  sees  in  them  supernatural 
intervention  which  terrifies  it  as  if  it  was  a  sign  of 
war,  or  of  danger  for  the  Shah. 

The  apparition  of  a  comet  in  1880  produced  a  true 
panic ;  it  coincided  with  the  prophecy  of  an  Italian 
priest,  spread  everywhere,  foretelling  the  end  of  the 
world  for  the  month  of  December.     Many  people  sold 


32G      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

all  their  goods  and  gave  the  money  to  the  priests  for 
their  salvation.  Others  ran  to  pay  their  debts  to  the 
Jews ;  others  took  refuge  in  the  mosques. 

Earthquakes  provoke  the  same  superstitious  fear. 
They  are  attributed  to  the  ox,  which,  according  to  the 
Persian  legend,  holds  the  earth  upon  his  twenty-one 
horns,  when  in  a  fit  of  anger  he  shakes  his  head. 

The  belief  in  omens,  the  Evil  Eye,  and  charms,  is 
very  widely  spread.  Three  lights  in  a  room  bring  mis- 
fortune ;  the  number  thirteen  is  fatal ;  when  counting 
one  says  "eleven,  twelve,  it  is  not  thirteen,  fourteen, 
etc." 

When  you  hear  the  prayer-call  of  the  Muezzin,  you 
must  kiss  your  index  finger  and  pass  it  twice  over  your 
ears. 

It  is  bad  to  sneeze  once,  whilst  a  second  sneezing 
Is  fortunate.  Once  Muzaffer-ed-din  Shah  was  to  come 
to  the  races  of  Dowchan  Tepeh,  where  he  had  invited 
all  the  diplomatic  body,  all  the  dignitaries,  and  a  great 
assemblage,  who  were  waiting  for  his  arrival  to  begin 
the  races,  when  H.E.  Zehir-ed-Dowleh,  Minister  of 
Ceremonies,  came  and  said  that  His  Majesty  had  sneezed 
once  under  the  gate  of  the  palace  whilst  going  out, 
and  that  he  had  been  obliged  to  go  back  and  wait 
for  a  second  sneezing,  which  did  not  come.  So  they 
could  not  leave  the  palace,  and  the  race-meeting  was 
postponed. 

The  Evil  Eye  In  Persia  Is  no  less  dreaded  than 
in    Italy  and    Egypt.     Though   it    is   not    much   spoken 


SUPERSTITIONS,  ASTROLOGERS      327 

of,  Persians  take  many  precautions  against  it.  So  you 
see  over  the  gate  of  a  house  a  pair  of  horns  of  a  stag 
or  moufflon,  or  a  horseshoe,  designed  to  counteract  it. 
But  above  all  the  Persians  dread  it  being  cast  upon 
litde  children.  The  Egyptians  counteract  it  by  never 
washing  the  children  till  they  are  six  or  eight  years 
old,  believing  that  a  coat  of  dirt  is  a  shield  against 
the  Evil  Eye.  The  Persians  do  not  imitate  this  pro- 
cedure, but  cover  the  faces  of  very  young  children, 
and  make  them  wear  all  sorts  of  amulets  all  over  their 
bodies — the  most  efficient  of  which  are  claws  of  tigers 
and  wolves  and  lizard  skins. 

If  a  mother  sees  a  dead  body  before  the  birth  of 
her  child,  she  must  immediately  sprinkle  it  with  salt, 
and  keep  a  pinch  of  the  salt  to  put  on  the  eyes  of  the 
child  at  his  birth.  If  she  neglects  to  do  that  her  child 
will  have  the  Evil  Eye,  and  bring  bad  luck  on  every- 
thing that  he  admires. 

A  multitude  of  Djinns  and  Divs  are  supposed  to 
people  deserts  and  mountains,  from  which  they  issue  to 
persecute  human  beings.  Though  they  are  not  visible, 
they  prefer  to  take  up  their  quarters  in  secret  places. 
They  have  a  particular  affection  for  wells,  but  do  not 
disdain  keyholes. 

Solomon  is  believed  to  have  acquired  dominion  over 
them,  though  there  is  a  story  in  the  Chronicle  of  Ismael- 
ben-Ali  which  shows  that  they  sometimes  outwitted  him. 

"  Solomon  had  a  ring  upon  which  depended  the 
duration  of  his   kingdom.     When  he  went  to  the  bath 


328      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

he  confided  it  to  one  of  his  wives.  One  day  while  he 
was  in  it,  a  Djinn  named  Sacar,  having  assumed  his 
appearance,  demanded  the  ring  from  the  wife  in  whose 
charge  it  had  been  left.  She  was  taken  in  and  gave 
it  to  him.  He  took  it  and  threw  it  in  the  sea,  and 
went  and  sat  on  the  throne  of  Solomon.  He  then 
altered  the  laws  by  which  the  King  governed  the 
Children  of  Israel.  Solomon,  having  looked  in  vain  for 
the  ring,  which  was  the  guarantee  of  the  duration  of 
his  kingdom,  believed  that  God  wanted  to  punish  him. 
He  went  out  of  his  palace  and  wandered  through  Judea, 
crying,  *  I  am  Solomon.'  But  no  one  would  believe 
him.  He  remained  forty  days  in  that  state.  At  last, 
having  asked  for  some  food  from  a  fisherman,  he  found 
the  ring  in  the  stomach  of  a  fish.  From  that  moment 
he  re-entered  upon  his  rights,  and,  having  caught  the 
Djinn,  Sacar,  had  him  bound  with  chains  and  thrown 
into  the  Lake  of  Tiberias." 

The  Persians  believe  that  you  can  command  the 
services  of  the  Djinns  if  once  you  succeed  in  mastering 
them.  This  is  the  prescription  :  first  of  all  comes  a 
great  deal  of  preparation  which  is  a  sort  of  trial  of 
moral  strength.  It  consists  in  isolating  yourself  for 
forty  days  in  the  desert,  which  is  called  chilli,  and  con- 
fining yourself  to  a  spot  marked  out  on  the  ground,  a 
circle  or  square,  or  a  geometrical  figure — tnandal.  All 
the  time  you  are  in  it  you  must  make  incantations  in 
Arabic,  in  cabalistic  terms.  These  cabalistic  terms  have 
been  revealed  by  Solomon,  who  was  master  of  the  Djinns. 


SUPERSTITIONS,  ASTROLOGERS       329 

Like  St.  Anthony  in  the  desert,  he  who  tries  it  has  to 
concentrate  all  his  thoughts  on  the  same  point  or  on  the 
same  subject,  and  deprive  himself  of  food,  eating  less  and 
less  every  day.  After  five  days  of  this  regime,  a  lion 
will  appear  to  you.  You  must  not  have  any  fear  of  it, 
and,  above  all,  must  not  come  out  of  the  mandal.  Then 
other  apparitions  follow,  and  these  will  take  the  form  of 
elephants,  serpents,  and  at  last  monstrous  dragons.  If 
the  experimentor  resists  all  these  frights,  and  is  not 
driven  away  by  them,  after  forty  days  he  will  master 
the  Djinns.  The  Persians  are  quite  convinced  that  it 
might  happen,  and  they  cite  persons  who  have  attained 
to  this  result.     But,  of  course,  you  never  meet  them. 

These  superstitious  ideas  do  not  escape  the  laws  of 
fatalism  which  rule  the  Oriental  life.  All  good,  all  bad, 
comes  from  God,  who  writes  it  in  the  Book  of  Fate  ;  and 
when  once  it  is  written,  God  Himself  cannot  rub  it  out. 

To  illustrate  this,  here  is  a  tale  which  the  Chief  Priest 
of  Maragha  told  me  : — 

"A  traveller  on  horseback,  holding  a  bag  of  gold, 
stopped  at  a  spring  to  drink,  then  went  away.  A 
moment  after,  a  young  boy  came  and  found  the  bag  of 
gold,  which  had  been  left  behind  by  the  traveller,  picked 
it  up,  and,  seeing  nobody  round,  ran  away  with  it.  But 
an  old  blind  man  who  had  a  cabin  close  by,  where  he 
lived  upon  the  charity  of  the  passers-by,  came  to  drink 
at  the  spring.  At  the  same  time  the  traveller,  who  had 
found  out  that  he  had  forgotten  his  bag,  came  back  there 
too.     Seeing  nobody  but  the  old  man,  he  asked  him  if  he 


330      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

had  not  found  his  bag  of  gold.  The  old  man  answered, 
'  I  am  but  a  poor  blind  man,  how  could  I  have  found 
your  bag  ? '  The  traveller  lost  his  temper,  abused  the 
old  man,  and  said,  '  By  Allah,  thou  hast  robbed  my  bag 
of  gold !  I  am  as  sure  of  it  as  of  the  indubitable  exist- 
ence of  the  seventh  heaven  ! '  And  he  was  so  infuriated 
by  the  denials  of  the  old  man  that  he  killed  him." 

A  man  told  that  tale  to  Moses,  and  asked  him,  "If 
God  is  just,  how  could  he  write  in  the  Book  of  Fate  such 
things?"  "Don't  blaspheme,  man,"  said  Moses,  "but 
learn  what  is  here  the  cause  of  God's  will.  The 
traveller  had  robbed  the  boy's  father  of  all  his  goods, 
and  the  old  man  had  killed  the  traveller's  brother ;  each 
of  them  ignored  these  facts,  and  thus  was  manifested  the 
justice  of  God  the  Almighty." 


CHAPTER   XXXII 


BOUND    FOR    KURDISTAN 


One  of  my  most  interesting  experiences  in  Persia  was 
the  expedition  I  made  round  the  lake  Ourmiah. 

I  left  Teheran  for  Tabriz  (where  I  was  sent  to  act  as 
locum  tenens  at  the  French  Consulate)  at  the  beginning 
of  May  with  Pierre  Loti,  who  had  just  been  visiting 
Teheran,  coming  from  India. 

We  went  to  Resht,  crossed  the  lake  Mourd-ab,  and 
got  to  Enzeli,  a  little  village  on  the  border  of  the  Caspian 
Sea,  where  the  gardens  full  of  lilies  and  the  blossoming 
orange  trees  made  a  great  impression  on  the  poetical 
imagination  of  the  author  of  Madame  Chrysantheme. 

The  next  day  we  had  to  get  up  at  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning  in  order  not  to  miss  the  Russian  boat,  which 
was  to  take  us  to  Baku.  As  there  is  no  port  at  Resht 
and  the  steamer  has  to  lie  far  out,  and  only  stops  long 
enough  to  signal  with  her  siren  and  pick  up  passengers 
from  barkass  (boats),  we  had  to  wait  for  her  in  a  barkass 
outside  the  mouth  of  the  lake. 

We  waited  in  that  barkass  all  day  long,  from  four  in 
the  morning,  so  as  to  be  ready  to  jump  on  board  the 
moment   the   steamer  approached,   but  we  did  not  hear 

331 


332      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

the  horn  of  the  Russian  boat  till  six  o'clock  at  nioht. 
The  barkass  shot  out  to  meet  it,  but  embarkation  was 
difficult  on  account  of  the  swell.  We  had  to  wait  till  the 
crest  of  the  wave  carried  us  up  to  the  "companion"  for 
each  person  to  go  on  board. 

About  the  steamer  the  less  said  the  better.  The  food 
may  have  been  Russian.  The  next  day,  on  our  arrival  at 
Baku,  the  Russian  custom-house  officers,  who  have  a  well- 
deserved  reputation  for  aggressiveness,  desired  us  to  open 
all  our  numerous  bags.  The  French  Vice-Consul  had 
received  word  from  the  Legation  to  be  there  to  rescue  us 
from  the  hands  of  these  tormentors,  but  he  came  late.  I 
tried  to  impress  the  officials,  showing  them  letters  from 
the  Russian  Legation  at  Teheran,  which  had  been  given 
me  for  that  purpose,  but  they  did  not  pay  the  least 
attention  to  them. 

One  of  them  could  speak  a  little  English.  I  told 
him  what  an  important  position  Captain  Viaud  (Pierre 
Loti)  held  in  the  French  Navy,  with  the  same  result. 
As  a  last  resource,  and  without  the  least  hope  that  it 
would  be  understood,  I  mentioned  that  my  fellow- 
traveller  was  the  famous  member  of  the  French  Academy 
who  has  immortalised  himself  under  the  name  of  Pierre 
Loti. 

To  my  astonishment,  I  saw  the  man  fairly  dumb- 
founded. First  he  gaped,  then  he  exclaimed  in  thick 
accents,  "Oh,  Academic  Loti!"  and,  with  profuse  saluta- 
tions, bade  us  pass  on  without  a  single  moment's  more 
delay. 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  333 

Pierre  Loti  was  almost  as  astonished  as  the  official. 
It  seemed  incredible  that  his  fame  as  a  French 
Academician  should  have  reached  an  understrapper  in 
the  customs  in  such  a  God-forsaken  place  as  Baku. 

Baku  is  the  most  desolate  place  in  the  world.  There 
is  not  a  blade  of  green ;  the  fumes  of  petroleum  have 
killed  everything.  There  is  no  water  except  what  comes 
by  railway.  There  are  about  four  trees  with  about  four 
leaves  each  in  the  public  square,  which  have  been  tended 
with  the  greatest  care  and  watered  at  very  great  expense. 

In  the  midst  of  the  squalid  town  may  be  seen  here 
and  there  the  magnificent  marble  palace  of  some  oil 
king.  Baku's  hideousness  is  half  Russian,  half  Oriental ; 
it  is  called  the  Black  Town.  Everything  is  impregnated 
with  petroleum  ;  everything  smells  of  petroleum,  every- 
thing tastes  of  petroleum. 

We  left  that  nightmare  as  quickly  as  possible,  and 
took  the  train  for  Tifiis. 

At  first  we  crossed  barren  steppes,  dotted  here  and 
there  with  the  tents  of  Turkomans — very  wild-looking 
people,  who  move  about  with  their  herds.  Then  the 
scenery  was  transformed :  it  grew  more  and  more 
splendid  as  we  entered  the  mountains.  The  railways, 
after  the  fashion  of  mountain  railways,  made  free  use 
of  the  river  gorges  ;  sometimes  our  eyes  were  riveted 
on  the  wild  depths  below  us,  and  sometimes  they  were 
arrested  by  the  grandeur  of  the  peaks  above  us  as  we 
rattled  along. 

At   last    we    perceived    in    a    delightful    valley    the 


334      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  TERSIA 

ravishing  city  of  Tiflis,  towering  over  both  shores  of 
the  river  Koura,  and  dominated  by  the  ruins  of  the 
ancient  castle  of  Queen  Thamara. 

When  we  aHghted  in  Tiflis,  we  were  agreeably 
struck,  coming  from  a  Mussulman  country,  to  see 
unveiled  women  walking  about  the  streets,  mostly 
beautiful,  especially  the  Georgians,  whose  beauty  is 
proverbial. 

We  went  to  the  bazar,  remarkable  for  its  filigree 
work  in  gold  and  silver.  It  is  interesting  to  watch 
the  goldsmiths  plying  their  delicate  craft,  and  to  see 
the  armourers  forging  the  daggers  and  long  scimitars 
and  the  filigree  imitations  of  cartridges  worn  by  the 
Tcherkess  and  Cossacks. 

In  the  Persian  and  Turkish  bazars,  all  the  carpets, 
silks,  and  Oriental  stuffs  were  like  those  of  Teheran. 

Lambskins  are  the  things  to  buy  at  Tiflis.  They 
are  of  the  first  quality :  they  come  from  a  special 
breed  of  lambs,  and,  in  order  that  they  may  be  very 
fine,  they  are  taken  before  the  birth  of  the  lamb  by 
killing  the  mother. 

It  is  easy  to  imagine  how  interested  Pierre  Loti  was 
in  the  bazars,  where  we  made  a  few  typical  purchases : 
it  was  crowded  with  national  types,  which  are  very 
varied  and  numerous  in  the  Caucasus. 

The  Georgians  take  the  first  place  for  beauty  with 
the  Lezghians  and  Circassians,  from  whom  the  Shah 
and  the  Sultan  recruit  part  of  their  harems.  The  men 
of  these  tribes  are  tall,  elegant,  active,  and  strong ;  they 


J 
u. 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  335 

wear  the  Cossack  dress,  with  a  dagger  and  a  scimitar, 
a  tragi-comedy,  for,  since  arms  are  prohibited  by  the 
Government,  the  blades  are  only  of  wood. 

Armenians,  Turks,  Greeks,  Turkomans,  Russians, 
Germans,  and  other  nations  meet  in  this  caravanserai 
between  Asia  and  Europe.  All  wear  their  national 
dress. 

We  visited  some  interesting  churches,  one  of  which 
was  dedicated  to  St.  George,  the  patron  of  Georgia, 
the  hardest  worked  saint  in  the  calendar.  He  is  still 
killing  the  dragon.  It  is  a  large  mediaeval  church,  a 
fine  example  of  the  art  of  this  country.  It  has  a 
dome,  and  in  its  architecture  generally  bears  the  stamp 
of  the  Orient :  the  grilles  of  the  tabernacle  are  beautiful 
and  fantastic,  and  the  icons  of  the  Virgin  and  the  saints 
are  flashing  with  jewels. 

After  three  days  in  Tiflis,  Pierre  Loti  and  I  parted, 
he  going  to  Constantinople,  I  down  the  Caucasus  back 
to  Persia.  I  accompanied  him  to  the  station,  where  a 
deputation  of  women,  who  had  heard  that  he  was  in  the 
city,  were  assembled  to  salute  him.  He  was  touched  by 
that  attention  of  the  women  of  the  Caucasus,  though, 
as  he  told  me,  he  hated  to  be  made  a  "white 
elephant." 

I  went  from  Tiflis  to  Erivan  in  a  carriage  drawn 
by  three,  and  sometimes  four,  horses  abreast.  The 
roads  are  not  very  good,  but  seemed  to  me  marvels 
after  the  rough  tracks  of  Persia.  The  scenery  grew 
more  and  more  majestic  as   I   advanced,   and  when    I 


33G      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PEKSTA 

reached  Erivan   I   was  confronted  by  the  sublime  form 
of  Mount  Ararat. 

After  leaving  Erivan,  the  road  passes  by  the  foot 
of  that  mountain  canonised  in  the  story  of  the  Flood, 
and  reaches  Nakhchivan,  where  I  was  shown  a  place 
called  the  Tomb  of  Noah,  a  very  uninteresting  little 
chamber,  built  of  brick,  which  is  certainly  not  of  any 
remarkable  antiquity,  and  is  devoid  of  any  ornamenta- 
tion except  a  few  tapers  lit  by  "  Believers." 

From  Erivan  to  Julfa,  the  town  which  abuts  on  the 
Persian  frontier,  the  landscape  becomes  wilder  and  more 
desolate.  I  had  to  stay  in  one  of  the  post-houses  for 
six  or  seven  hours  waiting  for  horses.  It  was  a  sort 
of  caravanserai  standing  alone  in  the  desert,  where 
camel-drivers,  postilions,  and  carters  meet  to  rest  and 
to  give  a  feed  to  their  beasts.  The  heat  was  torrid. 
Such  clouds  of  flies  settled  on  my  face  and  hands,  that 
it  was  hopeless  to  try  and  shake  them  off.  I  shall 
not  mention  the  smell  and  the  filthiness  of  the  people 
sitting  next  to  me,  and,  to  complete  my  misfortunes, 
there  was  nothing  which  I  could  eat.  The  only  thing 
I  could  buy  was  tea  or  lemonade.  I  had  practically 
lived  on  raw  eggs,  lemonade,  and  cherries  since  I 
had  left  Tiflis.  Even  at  Erivan,  which  is  a  large  city, 
the  menu  of  the  Grand  Hotel  was  so  repulsive  that 
I  was  reduced  to  cherries  and  eggs,  which  this  time 
could  be  boiled. 

Julfa  stands  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Araxes,  which 
forms  the   frontier   between    Russia   and    Persia.     The 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  337 

river  is  crossed  by  two  punts,  one  Russian  and  the 
other  Persian,  which  meet  at  an  island  in  the  centre. 
On  the  Russian  side,  the  punt  worked  on  a  chain  and 
was  big  enough  for  the  carriage ;  on  the  Persian  side, 
it  was  leaky  and  rickety,  and  so  small  that  the  carriage 
could  not  be  taken  on  it  and  had  to  ford  the  river. 
Men  had  to  go  up  the  stream  to  find  the  ford.  It 
was  easy  to  know  that  Persia  had  begun.  There  were 
two  imposing  buildings  :  one  was  a  custom-house,  the 
other  was  a  guard-house.  The  custom-house  officers 
were  busy  somewhere  else,  and  I  did  not  wait  for  them. 

There  is  no  road  on  that  side,  but  from  time  to  time 
there  were  traces  of  the  preparations  which  had  been 
made  for  the  journey  of  the  Shah.  Stones  had  been 
put  on  each  side  of  an  imaginary  road,  but  that  did 
not  make  it  smoother  for  the  springs  of  a  carriage  like 
mine,  which  were  mended  with  string. 

After  a  few  minutes  of  this  "  road "  we  entered  a 
gorge,  down  the  middle  of  which  ran  a  torrent.  The 
scenery  grew  wilder  and  more  impressive ; 'eagles  and 
vultures  sailed  overhead.  Not  a  sound  was  heard  but 
that  of  hurrying  waters.  The  gorge  became  more  and 
more  confined,  until  there  was  only  room  for  the  torrent, 
which  was  to  become  our  road.  Unfortunately  it  was 
a  good  many  feet  below  us,  and  the  descent  was  at  a 
terrifying  angle.  The  coachman,  however,  who  was 
accustomed  to  the  route,  was  not  in  the  least  disturbed. 
"  It  is  nothing,"  he  said.  "The  worst  that  can  happen 
is  for  the  carriage  to  turn  a  somersault  in  the  water." 

22 


338      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

He  proceeded  to  tie  the  wheels  for  our  toboganning, 
and  while  he  was  engaged  in  this,  another  carriage 
overtook  us,  in  which  were  two  Seyyeds,  or  descendants 
of  the  Prophet,  accompanied  by  two  women.  As  might 
have  been  expected,  the  men  occupied  the  best  places. 
Their  coachman  derided  the  precautions  my  man  was 
taking,  and  plunged  straight  down. 

It  was  all  right  till  they  reached  the  water,  and  then 
the  carriage  suddenly  turned  turtle,  and  the  Seyyeds, 
whose  ancestor  neglected  to  protect  them,  and  the  women 
were  pitched  into  the  stream  with  their  beds  and  their 
baggage.  We  had  to  wait  till  the  stream,  which  was 
our  road  for  several  miles,  was  cleared,  then  we 
toboganned  into  it,  and  were  at  once  axle-deep  in 
water. 

After  two  days'  journey  across  a  wild  country,  I  got 
to  Tabriz. 

Tabriz  is  a  town  of  about  two  hundred  thousand 
inhabitants,  the  largest  city  in  Persia.  It  is  at  the 
junction  of  several  important  caravan  roads,  from 
Russia,  Turkey,  Kurdistan,  and  Teheran.  It  stands 
high  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  its  climate  is 
considered  very  healthy.  The  name  is  derived  from 
Tab — fever,  and  Riz — to  throw  off.  It  is  said  that  the 
wife  of  Haroun-ar-Rashid  was  cured  there  of  a  bad 
fever. 

The  aspect  of  the  town  is  no  different  from  that  of 
Teheran  and  other  Persian  towns  :  mud  walls,  narrow 
streets,  and  vaulted  bazars.     Earthquakes  have  destroyed 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  339 

it  several  times,  and  only  two  buildings  remain  of  any 
antiquity  :  one  is  the  Blue  Mosque ;  but  the  portal,  still 
covered  with  beautiful  blue  tiles,  is  the  only  portion 
which  remains  of  that  celebrated  monument.  The  other 
is  the  old  ark  or  citadel,  of  which  only  one  huge  tower 
is  still  standing ;  it  is  now  used  for  the  execution  of 
women,  who  are  thrown  from  the  top. 

Mohamed  Ali,  the  actual  Shah,  who  in  that  town 
was  Valiahd  (Crown  Prince)  had  his  residence  there, 
like  all  the  Crown  Princes  of  the  Kajar  dynasty.  He 
is  the  first  Shah  to  abandon  the  practice  of  sending  his 
eldest  son  there :  probably  because  he  understands  the 
evil  effects  of  his  life  in  that  Turkish  province,  which 
is  so  much  under  the  sway  of  Russia,  he  has  kept  his 
heir  in  Teheran. 

I  remained  in  the  Consulate  about  six  months,  but 
broke  the  monotony  of  a  long  stay  in  a  town  so  deprived 
of  interest,  and  with  a  European  colony  restricted  to 
about  thirty  people,  by  going  for  a  tour  round  the  lake 
Ourmiah. 

I  left  Tabriz  at  the  end  of  September,  with  my 
servants  Mehmed  and  Abd-Oullah.  Mehmed  was  my 
valet,  and  had  the  care  of  my  clothes  and  my  bed,  which 
was  composed  of  a  folding  frame  and  sheepskin  as  a 
foundation,  with  a  mattress  over  it  thin  enough  to  be 
folded.  These  were  put  on  a  horse  with  all  my  other 
personal  belongings,  under  the  charge  of  a  chagtiird  or 
groom,  whilst  the  pillow  was  kept  in  a  sack  at  the  back 
of  my  saddle. 


340      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

On  Mehmed's  horse  were  the  provisions,  in  a 
Khourjine  or  carpet  saddle-bag.  As  to  Abd-Oullah,  he 
had  to  act  as  a  cook,  and  his  KJioiirjines  were  full  of 
cooking  utensils.  This  made  up  all  my  little  caravan. 
None  of  us  had  a  weapon  of  any  sort,  which  was 
contrary  to  the  usage  of  the  country,  and  in  spite  of  the 
opposition  of  my  servants.  But  I  have  a  firm  belief 
that  in  Persia  it  is  much  safer  for  a  European  to  rely 
more  upon  the  prestige  of  his  sun-helmet  than  on  rifles 
or  pistols.  For  nothing  could  save  him  from  the 
fanaticism  of  the  mob,  if  in  using  a  weapon  he  were 
to  spill  Mussulman  blood.  A  whip  and  a  determined 
bearing  would  be  more  efficacious,  and  would  not  entail 
the  danger  of  vengeance. 

We  crossed  a  plain  of  cultivated  fields ;  some  of 
them  devoted  to  melons  and  water  -  melons,  others 
were  tracts  of  marsh-land  full  of  water-birds.  In  the 
middle  of  the  road  the  dead  body  of  a  camel  was  lying, 
upon  which  huge  grey  vultures  and  brown  eagles  were 
gorging.  They  did  not  move  until  I  was  within 
twenty  yards  of  them,  and  they  were  so  heavy  that  they 
could  with  difficulty  find  the  momentum  to  rise.  They 
had  to  make  several  springs  before  they  could  manage 
to  fly. 

I  galloped  up  to  them  and  came  quite  close  on 
them  before  they  could  rise.  They  swooped  over  my 
head  screaming,  and  it  was  rather  impressive  to  see  those 
huge  shadows  against  the  brilliant  blue  sky. 

On  the  next  day  I   had  my  first  glimpse  of  the  lake 


The  Tendour.     iVlaking^  Bread  in  Uurmiah. 


Cotton  threshing'. 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  341 

Ourmiah,  a  dark  blue  patch  far  in  the  distance  amongst 
gold-coloured  hills. 

Mehmed,  who  questioned  all  the  people  we  met  on 
the  road  in  order  to  get  me  information  of  every  sort,  told 
me  that  as  the  Imam  Abbas  was  fighting  to  obtain  some 
water,  when  he  arrived  in  sight  of  the  lake  Ourmiah, 
which  at  that  time  was  only  a  pond,  he  exclaimed, 
**  What  a  speck  of  water !  It  is  not  worth  while  my 
drawing  my  scimitar  for  it,"  and  uttered  the  wish  that  it 
should  grow.  Since  that  time  the  lake  has  grown 
unceasingly. 

This  shows  how  childish  the  Persian  mind  can  be,  for 
it  is  well  known  by  all  the  Shiites  that  Imam  Abbas, 
whose  camp  was  surrounded  by  the  troops  of  the  Caliph, 
could  not  even  get  to  the  waters  of  the  Tigris,  which  is  a 
six  weeks'  caravan  journey  from  lake  Ourmiah. 

We  crossed  the  village  of  Khoumbar,  shaded  by 
many  trees  and  traversed  by  many  streams.  The  view 
of  the  lake  in  the  far  distance  was  majestic ;  it  had  a 
veil  of  mirage  over  it  from  the  fierceness  of  the  sun. 

The  path  had  a  surface  of  loose  stones,  and  but  for 
the  villages  spread  here  and  there  like  oases,  all  the  plain 
looked  barren.  The  heat  was  intense.  Mehmed,  to  kill 
time,  had  to  tell  me  stories  that  he  had  heard  in  the 
caravanserai.  The  distances  seemed  very  great :  every 
man  on  the  road  of  whom  we  inquired  how  long  the 
stage  would  take  us,  gave  us  a  different  answer. 

In  spite  of  a  light  breeze,  which  a  moment  since  made 
the  atmosphere  nearly  possible,  and  in  spite  of  the  beauty 


342      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

of  the  lake,  grown  bluer  and  bluer  in  Its  frame  of  bold 
golden  rocks  backed  by  undulations  of  dark  blue  moun- 
tains, I  asked  a  peasant  to  point  out  a  garden  where  we 
could  rest.  He  made  us  follow  him  along  a  stony  track 
with  a  stream  running  down  its  centre,  till  he  jumped 
over  a  wall,  and  opened  a  little  wooden  door,  which  closed 
a  mere  hole  in  the  wall  not  more  than  three  feet  high. 

This  little  garden  was  smiling  and  cool,  with  tender 
green  grass,  fruit  trees,  and  poplars.  I  had  my  bed  un- 
folded under  a  walnut  tree,  and  enjoyed  a  rest,  looking 
at  the  blue  sky  through  the  tender  green  arabesque  of 
the  leaves,  here  and  there  tinged  with  yellow. 

I  heard  in  the  distance  the  sound  of  bells ;  it  was  a 
caravan  passing  in  the  scorching  sun  on  the  dusty  track. 
It  was  soon  lost  in  the  rustle  of  the  breeze  through  the 
foliage.  Between  the  peach  tree  and  the  almond  on  my 
right  there  was  a  gap,  through  which  I  saw  in  the  blue 
of  the  sky  two  eagles,  which  without  a  motion  of  their 
wings  were  describing  huge  circles.  But  for  this  touch 
of  the  wilds  I  might  have  been  in  Normandy. 

My  dream  died  quickly  as  I  retraced  my  steps  on  the 
stony,  dusty  path  in  the  blaze  of  the  sun. 

On  the  next  day  I  reached  the  village  of  Khosrova, 
inhabited  by  Christians,  where  the  French  Catholic 
Mission  has  one  of  its  most  important  stations. 

I  stopped  in  the  Mission  and  visited  the  village  and 
the  surroundings.  The  houses  of  the  peasants  are  very 
primitive — they  are  mere  boxes  of  mud,  with  no  windows 
but  the  hole  just  under  the  roof,  which  is  more  chimney 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  343 

than  window.  The  villagers  light  the  fire  in  the  middle 
of  the  floor,  and  the  room  is  soon  filled  with  the  acrid 
smoke  of  the  horse-dung. 

The  population  of  Khasrova  consists  almost  entirely  of 
Chaldeans.  Most  of  them  are  converted  to  Catholicism. 
They  belonged  before  their  conversion  to  the  Nestorian 
schism,  which  they  abandoned  in  the  fifteenth  century, 
thanks  to  the  preaching  of  a  young  Chaldean,  originally 
from  Diarbekir — the  town  in  Turkey  made  famous  by 
the  massacres  of  the  Armenians. 

He  had  been  in  his  own  country  converted  by  the 
Dominican  missionaries. 

Crossing  the  mountains  of  Kurdistan,  he  came  to 
Khosrova  to  work  at  his  profession  of  dyer.  Though 
ignorant,  he  soon  became,  thanks  to  his  zeal  and  the 
sanctity  of  his  life,  the  apostle  of  his  apprentices,  whom 
he  converted. 

One  of  them  was  sent  to  the  Patriarch  of  Mosoul — 
the  town  from  which  muslin  takes  its  name — to  be 
ordained  priest.  When  he  returned,  his  house  was  used 
as  a  church ;  and  as  the  Nestorians  hated  the  Catholic 
community,  they  had  to  keep  it  a  secret  for  the  space  of 
twenty  years,  which  they  used  in  propagating  their  faith. 
But  the  Nestorian  bishop,  Mar- Isaiah,  discovered  the 
secret,  and,  touched  by  what  he  saw,  went  to  Georgia  and 
was  converted  by  the  missionaries. 

The  Nestorians  are  still  very  numerous  in  all  these 
districts.  One  of  the  remarkable  features  about  their 
religion  is  that  the  bishoprics  are  hereditary  in  certain 


344      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

families.  The  right  of  inheritance  appHed  to  bishoprics 
in  the  Nestorian  Church  is  an  innovation  of  the  patriarch 
Simon  iv.  about  1450.  This  innovation  caused  in  1551 
a  schism  among  the  Nestorians,  one  part  of  whom 
attached  itself  to  the  Court  of  Rome  and  formed  "  the 
united  Chaldeans,"  having  their  own  Patriarch. 

The  first  and  most  important  condition  required  for 
becoming  a  Nestorian  bishop  is  that  the  candidate  should 
be  Nazir  before  he  is  born. 

The  bishop  himself  does  not  marry,  but  he  has  the 
choosing  of  his  successor.  This  is  how  he  proceeds. 
He  gives  notice  to  the  wife  of  his  brother  that  the 
child  who  will  be  born  of  her  will  be  a  bishop.  From 
that  moment  she  becomes  sacred,  and  ceases  to  eat  meat, 
not  only  until  the  child  is  born,  but  so  long  as  she  nurses 
him  ;  that  makes  him  Nazir. 

She  does  not  mind  that,  for  her  joy  of  thinking  that 
her  son  will  one  day  be  a  bishop,  and  that  she  will  be 
called  the  mother  of  "  My  Lord,"  is  sufficient  to  reconcile 
her  to  the  deprivation.  But  the  child  may  be  a  daughter, 
and  then  everything  has  to  be  begun  again,  until  a  man 
child  is  born. 

When  the  bishop  is  dead,  his  successor  on  the 
episcopal  throne  takes  his  place,  as  a  son  succeeds  to 
the  position  of  his  father  —  no  matter  whether  he  is 
educated  or  ignorant,  clever  or  stupid,  grave  or  gay, 
good  or  bad,  moral  or  immoral,  an  old  man,  a  young 
man,  or  a  boy. 

The    Christians,    be    they    Catholics,    Nestorians,    or 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  345 

Armenians,  are  much  persecuted  by  the  Mussulmans,  who 
steal  their  crops  and  their  women.  Towers  may  be  seen  in 
each  field,  where  the  owner  and  his  family  go  to  live  during 
the  ripening  of  the  harvest,  to  protect  their  crops  against 
the  Mussulman  robbers,  who  are  generally  nomad  Kurds 
from  the  mountains. 

One  evening  during  the  dinner  we  heard  shrieks  and 
a  great  disturbance  in  the  village.  It  was  caused  by  a 
band  of  Kurds  who  had  entered  a  house  in  which  there 
were  several  women,  whom  they  were  outraging.  They 
had  drawn  their  daggers  and  threatened  anyone  who 
resisted  with  instant  death* 

The  priests  interfered,  and  the  Kurds  had  to  go ; 
but  they  went  with  great  reluctance,  and  vowed  venge- 
ance. 

The  good  fathers  told  me  that  this  was  a  constant 
occurrence. 

After  calm  had  been  re-established,  we  resumed  our 
dinner,  and  whilst  I  was  tasting  the  wine  of  their  vine- 
yards, the  news  of  the  country  was  told  me. 

"You  have  heard,"  said  Father  Boucays,  "of  the 
war  that  the  governor  of  Ourmiah  is  actually  levying 
upon  the  Kurdish  tribes  of  the  Turkish  frontier.  Last 
Thursday,  that  governor.  Imam  Kouli  Mirza,  after  having 
pillaged  and  destroyed  eighteen  Kurdish  villages,  arrived 
at  Shari,  about  three  leagues  from  Khosrova,  where  he 
fought  a  great  battle  and  succeeded  in  killing  the  chief 
of  the  tribe  of  Mehemedi,  Mesto  Agha  Sartip — sartip, 
which  comes  probably  from  satrap,  means  a  general  in 


346      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

Persian.     It  is  to  be  remarked  that  this  Mesto  Agha  has 
been  killed  by  a  Christian  of  Mavana. 

"  To-day  I  was  told  that  the  Mehemedi,  deprived  of 
their  chief,  went  to  Imam  Kouli  Mirza,  gave  him  nine 
thousand  tomans,  and  made  peace. 

"  While  the  Mehemedi  were  fighting,  their  allies  the 
Kardaris  embarked  on  their  exploits.  Seeing  Sommai 
evacuated  by  the  troop,  these  Kurds  came  down  from 
their  fastnesses  in  the  high  mountains  to  the  villages 
of  Anzel,  and  stole  nearly  three  thousand  sheep  ;  and 
meeting  sixty  soldiers  returning  to  camp,  killed  their 
commander,  wounded  two  others,  and  disarmed  the 
remainder. 

"  This  shows  the  character  of  the  tribes  against  which 
we  have  to  protect  our  villages. 

"When  the  expedition  was  over,  Imam  Kouli  Mirza 
returned  to  the  seat  of  his  government  at  Ourmiah  at 
the  head  of  his  victorious  troops,  preceded  by  a  horse- 
man bearing  on  the  point  of  his  lance  the  salted  head 
of  the  conquered  chief." 

Khosrova  was  also  the  seat  of  a  bishop,  who  was  a 
native  of  the  country  but  had  been  seven  years  in  Rome, 
where  his  docility  had  led  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  to 
believe  that  he  would  be  easily  manageable.  He  had 
accordingly  been  made  a  bishop ;  but  as  soon  as  he 
returned  to  his  native  place  with  the  authority  of  that 
tide,  he  had  only  one  idea,  and  that  was  to  make  money 
out  of  it.  He  was  very  troublesome,  sometimes  making 
pacts  with  the  Kurds  against  the  Catholics,  and  some- 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  347 

times  with  the  Catholics  against  the  Kurds.  He  was  a 
Nestorian  by  birth,  converted  to  CathoHcism  by  the 
missionaries,  and  was  named  Khoda  Bakhch  —  i.e. 
present  of  God.  But  to  the  missionaries  he  seemed 
more  Hke  a  present  from  the  devil. 

Once,  when  he  was  on  very  bad  terms  with  the 
Mussulman  authorities,  he  took  refuge  in  the  Mission, 
but  soldiers  from  the  Government  came  to  fetch  him, 
with  an  order  for  his  imprisonment,  which  had  arrived 
from  Tabriz. 

As  the  soldiers  entered  on  one  side,  he  escaped  over 
the  garden  wall,  went  to  a  peasant's  house,  dressed  as  a 
woman  with  an  impenetrable  veil  to  conceal  his  beard, 
mounted  on  a  donkey,  and  left  the  village  quietly,  with 
an  old  man  walking  by  his  side.  The  Mussulmans  who 
saw  him  thought  he  was  a  bride  on  her  way  to  her 
wedding. 

The  fathers  of  the  French  Mission  were  supposed 
to  be  under  his  authority,  but  when  it  was  discovered 
what  a  rapscallion  he  was,  they  asked  for  protection 
from  the  French  Bishop  of  Ourmiah,  the  seat  of 
the  Apostolical  Delegate  of  the  Pope. 

A  report  was  made  to  Rome,  and,  pending  an  answer 
from  the  Propaganda  Fide,  no  more  attention  was  paid 
to  his  orders. 

A  few  months  later,  whilst  in  Rome,  I  heard  from 
Cardinal  Ledokowsky,  the  Prefect  of  the  Propaganda, 
that  the  Persian  Government  had  imprisoned  that  trouble- 
some and  unworthy  bishop. 


348      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

The  cemetery  of  Khosrova  is  very  old,  and  its  tomb- 
inscriptions  in  the  Chaldean  language  are  of  great  interest. 
The  tombs  are  generally  very  simple.  Most  of  them 
are  only  monoliths,  rough-hewn ;  some  of  them  are  in 
the  shape  of  a  ram.  This  custom  of  putting  a  ram  upon 
a  tomb  comes  from  an  old  superstition  which  the  priests 
relate  in  memory  of  the  sacrifices  of  the  Old  Testament, 
but  which  is  nothing  else  but  a  relic  of  paganism  and  of 
the  love  feasts  {agapai)  of  the  funerals  of  the  ancients-,' 
The  relations,  after  having  lowered  the  dead  into  his 
last  resting-place,  offer  up  a  sacrifice  upon  his  tomb  by 
cutting  the  throat  of  a  ram,  which  is  then  consumed  en 
famille.  They  take  care,  however,  to  send  a  portion  to 
the  priest  who  accompanied  the  funeral. 

Now,  in  the  country  of  Khosrova  and  Ourmiah,  these 
customs  have  disappeared  amongst  the  Catholics. 

After  four  days  in  Khosrova,  I  left  for  Ourmiah. 
The  country  we  had  to  cross  was  inhabited  by  several 
Kurdish  tribes,  though  we  were  not  yet  in  Kurdistan 
proper. 

A  priest  from  the  Mission,  who  was  to  go  with  me, 
being  very  much  afraid  of  the  Kurds,  took  one  of  his 
cousins  to  increase  the  escort.  For  that  the  latter  put  on 
a  Cossack's  dress,  with  a  rifle,  revolver,  and  quantities  of 
cartridges  arranged  in  his  belts.  The  priest  was  also 
armed  in  the  same  way. 

The  road  was  reputed  to  be  dangerous;  it  climbed 
and  climbed  until  it  reached  the  top  of  a  high  hill. 
From  there  we  could  see   the   lake,  so   exactly  of  the 


7-- 


My  escort  in  Kurdistan. 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  349 

same  colour  as  the  sky  that  we  could  not  distinguish 
where  water  ended  and  sky  began.  This  effect  was 
especially  striking  as  we  made  the  descent. 

We  stopped  for  the  night  at  Guiavilan.  After  having 
passed  by  many  villages  in  the  plain,  we  alighted  at  the 
house  of  Tamraz,  the  father  of  one  of  the  native  priests, 
called  Kacha  in  Chaldean.  The  Kacha  of  the  village 
came  to  salute  me.  He  looked  just  like  one  of  the 
Assyrians  on  the  bas-reliefs  in  the  British  Museum,  with 
his  long  beard  and  hair,  curled  in  stiff  waves,  and  his 
high  kolah  of  the  old  Assyrian  shape. 

On  the  day  after  we  reached  the  city  of  Ourmiah, 
which  lies  in  the  most  fertile  plain  of  Persia. 

I  had  quite  an  imposing  reception  in  that  town. 
The  missionaries  had  sent  word  to  the  authorities  that 
I  was  coming,  and  an  hour  out  of  the  town  I  was  met 
by  an  escort  sent  by  the  governor,  with  a  "  beautiful " 
carriage  lined  with  pale  blue  satin,  on  each  side  of  which 
walked  three  men  with  long  silver  staves.  The  governor 
had  also  sent  a  Yadek — a  horse  saddled  and  richly 
caparisoned,  but  with  no  rider  on  it,  led  by  the  hand — a 
Persian  mark  of  distinction. 

Four  missionaries  on  horseback  were  also  there, 
waiting  for  me.  When  I  alighted  they  made  me  drink 
some  wine  from  their  own  vineyards  as  a  toast;  and  I 
entered  the  carriage,  which  proceeded  at  a  slow  pace. 
All  the  schools  of  the  Mission  had  sent  their  boys  and 
girls  to  greet  me  and  cheer  as  the  carriage  was  passing 
them. 


350      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

I  was  conducted  with  this  pompous  array  to 
Monseigneur  Lesnd,  the  Apostolical  Delegate  of  the 
Pope,  who  showed  me  hospitality  in  the  palace  of  the 
Mission.  As  I  crossed  the  threshold,  a  Chaldean  Catholic 
cut  the  throat  of  a  sheep  and  threw  its  head  over  the 
other  side,  so  that  I  had  to  spring  across  its  blood.  This 
is  a  sign  of  welcome. 

The  hall  was  full  of  Shirini — sweetmeats  on  trays 
arranged  in  heaps  with  many-coloured  papers,  which 
had  been  sent  by  the  different  persons  who  were  desirous 
of  welcoming  me. 

I  spent  a  most  charming  week  there,  sight-seeing  and 
paying  visits  to  all  the  interesting  people  and  the  different 
missions — the  English,  the  American,  and  the  Russian. 

The  Christian  inhabitants  of  that  country  appreciate 
the  good  taste  of  European  nations  in  sending  them  these 
missions,  and  to  show  their  thankfulness,  and  in  order  not 
to  make  anyone  jealous,  they  stray  from  one  to  the  other, 
after  they  have  got  all  the  material  advantages  which 
are  forthcoming.  But  in  reality  they  always  remain 
Nestorians  or  Armenians  at  heart.  They  are  what  are 
called  in  the  Far  East  rice  Christiafts. 

The  last  Mission  to  come  there  was  that  from  the 
Holy  Synod  of  Russia.  When  it  was  announced  there 
was  a  great  movement  in  its  favour,  the  Russians  having 
always  been  expected  to  protect  the  Christians  from  the 
hands  of  the  Mussulmans. 

A  Nestorian  bishop,  Mar-Yonan  (Jonas),  who  had 
successively     been     converted     to     Catholicism,     Pro- 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  351 

testantism,  and  the  Orthodox  Church,  went  about 
all  the  villages  announcing  that  the  Russian  missionaries 
were  coming,  and  that  those  who  should  be  converted 
to  Orthodoxy  would  be  protected  by  Russia,  and  would 
have  nothing  more  to  fear  from  the  Mussulmans,  who 
would  no  longer  have  any  power  over  them. 

He  added  that  the  Lords  of  the  Villages  would  be 
deprived  of  their  lands,  which  would  be  divided  among 
the  new  converts. 

The  country  was  in  a  great  state  of  excitement  over 
this  announcement.  The  poor  ignorant  peasants  believed 
all  that  they  were  told.  They  therefore  went  in  great 
number  to  meet  the  Russian  Mission.  Monseigneur 
Lesnd  puts  the  number  at  ten  thousand. 

All  the  other  Missions  were  in  despair. 

The  Russian  missionaries  went  to  all  the  villages, 
and  wrote  down  the  names  of  all  those  who  wished  to 
be  converted.  These  people  imagined  that  the  act  of 
conversion  made  them  Russian  subjects.  For  in  that 
country  each  religion  represents  a  nationality,  and 
accordingly  the  Orthodox  call  themselves  Russians, 
the  Episcopalians  English,  the  Catholics  French,  and 
the  Presbyterians  Americans. 

The  new  Orthodox  converts,  believing  that  they 
were  Russians,  thought  that  they  could  do  anything 
they  liked,  and  committed  all  sorts  of  outrages,  which 
is  the  practice  of  the  oppressed  as  soon  as  they  believe 
themselves  to  be  powerful. 

What  was  their  astonishment  when  they  discovered 


352      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

that,  just  as  before,  the  Mussulmans  gave  them  the 
bastinado,  whilst  the  missionaries  stood  by  and  saw  it 
done !  And  great  was  their  disappointment  when  these 
same  missionaries,  instead  of  giving  them  all  sorts  of 
things  like  the  others  used  to  do,  levied  from  them 
contributions  for  the  construction  of  churches  and  for 
the  maintenance  of  their  priests,  while  the  promised 
distribution  of  lands  was  not  made. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  missionaries  were  very 
impolitic  in  their  attitude  towards  the  Persians.  They 
spoke  haughtily  and  as  if  they  were  masters,  and  galloped 
through  the  bazars,  hitting  with  their  knouts  the  people 
who  did  not  make  way  for  them  quickly  enough. 

Always  ready  to  use  the  knout,  they  were  soon 
detested  by  everybody,  till  very  strict  orders  came 
from  Russia  for  them  to  be  more  moderate.  But  this 
did  not  hinder  the  majority  of  their  new  converts 
from  leaving  them  to  go  back  to  more  advantageous 
creeds. 

And  now  their  influence  is  quite  insignificant. 

The  English  Episcopalians  have  a  flourishing  Mission, 
as  well  as  the  American  Presbyterians,  who  were  intro- 
duced into  the  country  by  Mar  Hohanna  (John),  Bishop 
of  Guiavilan.  He  had  been  to  England  first  in  order 
to  ask  the  English  to  send  a  Mission,  but  the  High 
Church  received  him  coldly.  He  was  so  displeased 
that  he  went  straight  to  the  Presbyterians  of  England, 
who,  in  order  to  give  him  a  greater  prestige,  sent  him 
to  America,  from  which  he  returned  with  missionaries, 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  353 

who  have  dominated  the  Mission  for  a  long  time  past. 
Thanks  to  their  rich  endowments  and  their  clever  ad- 
ministration, they  had  captured  the  control  of  the 
teaching ;  but  now  the  Catholics  are  at  the  head  of  the 
educational  movement,  as  they  have  more  schools. 

Though  Ourmiah  is  supposed  to  be  the  birthplace 
of  Zoroaster, — indeed,  a  tower  is  still  shown  which  is 
associated  with  his  name, — there  are  no  Zoroastrians 
(Guabr — our  Gebirs)  in  the  country.  The  population 
of  about  fifty  thousand  souls  is  divided  between  Mussul- 
mans, Christians,  and  a  few  Jews. 

Sixty  years  ago  the  Christians  were  all  Nestorians 
and  Armenians ;  now,  Catholics,  Nestorians,  Episco- 
palians, Presbyterians,  Orthodox  Christians,  Armenians, 
and  what  not,  are  to  be  found. 

There  is  also  a  special  cult  of  St.  George  in  that 
blessed  country.  They  call  him  Mar-Guiverguis,  and 
show  carved  stones  on  the  top  of  a  hill  called  Bakchi- 
Kaleh,  where  there  are  ruins  of  a  town  ;  the  two  sides  of 
one  of  the  gates  are  still  standing.  He  is  said  to  have 
been  born  there. 

The  plain  of  Ourmiah  is  the  most  fertile  part  of 
Persia,  as  it  is  very  well  watered  by  a  number  of  small 
rivers,  and  possesses  a  temperate  climate.  The  vege- 
tation is  like  that  of  Northern  Europe.  The  word 
Ourmiah  comes  from  the  Chaldean  Ur,  which  means 
country,  and  Mia,  water,  and  the  plain  deserves  its  name 
of  the  Country  of  the  Waters. 

Raisins  form  one   of  the   specialities  of  the  district 
23 


354      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

of    Ourmiah.      In    the    villages     you     see     everywhere 
enormous  quantities  of  grapes  drying  in  the  sun. 

The  ordinary  grapes  are  dried  without  any  appli- 
ances, but  for  certain  brands,  in  order  to  give  them 
a  very  fine  colour,  a  curious  process  is  employed.  The 
ashes  of  the  tendrils  of  the  vines  are  boiled  down  for 
a  long  time  in  the  water.  This  yields  a  yellowish  fluid, 
which  is  poured  into  a  new  cauldron,  where  it  is  boiled 
again.  Then  the  grapes  are  dipped  for  one  second  into 
the  boiling  liquid,  and  then  spread  in  the  sun  to  dry — 
generally  on  the  flat  terraces  which  form  the  roofs. 
There  is  no  other  special  industry,  although  the  excellence 
of  the  wood-carving  may  be  mentioned,  one  of  the  rare 
occupations  which  is  left  to  the  Christians.  A  Christian 
cannot  follow  the  ordinary  avocations — for  example,  the 
very  necessary  craft  of  the  mason,  which  is  practically 
reserved  for  Mussulmans. 

And  here  I  may  mention  the  tandour,  which  is  a 
feature  in  the  houses  of  this  country.  It  is  a  sort  of 
amphora  about  four  feet  high,  made  of  baked  clay, 
whose  sides  are  three  fingers  thick,  buried  in  the  floor 
of  the  room.  A  fire  is  lit  in  it,  and  in  winter-time 
all  the  family  crowd  into  the  room  where  the  tandour 
is  fixed,  and  to  which  the  name  tandour  is  also  applied. 
When  the  fire  sinks  everybody  crouches  over  it,  and 
a  huge  rug  is  spread  over  to  keep  the  heat  in. 

The  fuel  used  in  the  fire  is  the  dung  of  various 
animals,  kneaded  together  with  water  like  bread.  The 
first  thing  you  see  when  you  come  to  a  village  is  the 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  355 

women  making  round  dung  cakes  which  they  slap  upon 
the  walls  to  dry.  All  the  walls  are  covered  with  them. 
They  preserve  the  impress  of  womanly  fingers.  When 
they  are  dried,  they  are  piled  in  neat  conical  heaps  upon 
the  roofs.  Each  house  has  its  dung  stack,  forming  a  sort 
of  dingy  pyramid. 

It  is  in  the  tandour  that  the  bread  is  baked. 

This  function  is  left  to  the  mother  of  the  family. 
She  has  a  rolling-pin,  and  flattens  out  the  dough  into 
large  circular  cakes  nearly  a  yard  across,  as  flat  as 
Scotch  oatcakes,  and  rather  resembling  in  taste  the 
biscuits  which  Americans  call  crackers.  In  making  the 
cake  she  throws  it  from  one  arm  to  the  other,  letting 
it  fall  on  the  flat  of  the  forearm.  Every  time  it  is  thrown 
it  becomes  longer  and  thinner.  And  when  it  has  taken 
its  final  shape,  it  is  spread  on  a  round  wooden  board 
with  a  handle,  by  which  it  is  pressed  against  the  side 
of  the  amphora,  by  another  woman,  who  has  the  baking 
in  her  charge. 

The  baking  is  extremely  quick,  the  cake  being  so 
thin. 

Besides  the  different  Missions,  I  was  much  interested 
in  the  visits  that  I  paid  to  the  governor  of  the  town, 
Imam  Kouli  Mirza,  and  his  son-in-law,  Medjid-es- 
Saltaneh. 

The  governor  was  a  charming  old  man,  refined  and 
clever,  who  spoke  French  rather  well.  He  was  quite 
full  of  his  recent  victory  over  the  Kurds,  and  showed 
me    photographs    taken    during   the   campaign,    among 


356      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

which  a  photo  of  the  salted  head  of  the  vanquished 
chief  on  the  point  of  a  lance  was  conspicuous. 

It  is  a  custom  in  Persia  to  salt  the  heads  of  the 
enemy  in  order  that  they  may  be  sent  to  the  Shah 
or  to  the  governor  of  the  province  to  show  them  how 
many  enemies  have  been  slain,  because  otherwise  they 
would  not  credit  the  report.  This  habit  leads  to  some 
abuses  :  for  example,  when  a  governor  gives  orders  for 
certain  people  to  be  executed  in  a  place  which  is  far 
from  his  seat  of  government,  if  those  who  receive  the 
order  cannot  find  the  real  culprits,  they  cut  the  heads 
off  the  unfortunate  peasants  whom  they  find  upon  the 
road,  and  salt  their  heads  for  transmission. 

The  most  disgusting  story  of  salted  heads  which  was 
told  me  refers  to  this  country.  It  occurred  when  the 
Kurds  made  a  raid  and  ravaged  the  district  a  few  years 
ago.  They  killed  a  quantity  of  Christians  and  cut  off 
their  heads,  and  the  person  employed  to  salt  them  was 
a  Christian,  who  knew  that  when  he  had  salted  the  last 
his  own  would  be  cut  off  and  salted. 

It  is  impossible  to  waste  much  pity  upon  such  a 
decfraded  wretch,  such  a  born  slave,  and  one  is  obliij^ed 
to  confess  that  many  of  the  Christians  of  the  East  are 
creatures  of  this  kind. 

Prince  Imam  Kouli  Mirza,  who  is  a  member  of  the 
Imperial  Family,  is  very  fond  of  literature.  He  has 
a  fine  library,  with  all  sorts  of  remarkable  manuscripts 
illustrated  with  drawings  and  paintings. 

He  has  acquired  the  reputation  of  being  a  just  and 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  357 

capable  governor.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  new  Shah 
was  to  reinstate  him  in  his  position.  Every  post  in 
Persia  is  vacated  on  the  accession  of  a  new  Shah,  but 
of  course  many  of  the  officials  are  reinstated  at  once, 
on  the  condition,  needless  to  say,  that  they  send  a 
suitable  present,  which  is  really  like  a  tax. 

As  to  his  son-in-law,  Medjid-es-Saltaneh,  I  found 
him  a  most  charming  host.  Nearly  every  day  he  asked 
me  to  some  entertainment.  One  day  it  was  a  luncheon- 
party  in  a  huge  garden  outside  the  town.  At  the  end 
of  an  avenue  of  poplars,  down  the  centre  of  which  ran 
a  stream  of  clear  water  in  a  channel  of  turquoise  blue 
tiles,  stood  a  one-storey  building,  a  tower-like  pavilion, 
covered  with  tiles  and  arabesques.  Lunch  was  served 
on  the  roof  under  a  sort  of  verandah  of  delicately  carved 
woodwork  and  multi-coloured  glass.  I  was  agreeably 
surprised  to  find  that  amongst  the  sherbets  were  bowls 
of  champagne — no  mean  achievement  in  a  forsaken  place 
like  Ourmiah. 

After  lunch  we  went  into  the  garden,  where  carpets 
had  been  spread  on  the  turf  under  an  arbour  of  apricot 
trees.  Musicians  were  seated  on  the  grass,  and  a  young 
dancer  about  twelve  years  old  came  forward  to  give  his 
performance.  He  was  of  a  singularly  beautiful  Persian 
type — the  very  type  which  the  Persian  painters  choose 
for  Joseph,  whose  name  is  synonymous  with  youthful 
beauty  in  their  country.  He  was  called  Yussef — Joseph 
— probably  a  name  assumed  to  emphasise  the  resem- 
blance.    He  was  dressed  in  crocus  yellow  with  vieux  rose 


358      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

velvet  ornaments,  and  whilst  he  danced,  with  a  back- 
ground of  rose  trees  in  blossom,  he  seemed  to  be  himself 
a  gigantic  flower  swayed  by  the  breeze.  He  performed 
a  Kurdish  dance  with  a  dagger  in  each  hand,  in  the 
middle  of  which  he  threw  himself  upon  me  as  if  he  was 
going  to  stab  me.  I  could  not  help  starting  back,  which 
amused  my  host  highly.  That  dance  was  very  character- 
istic, and  the  sombre  music  which  accompanied  it  was 
eloquent  of  the  country. 

On  another  day  we  went  out  hawking  on  horseback 
in  the  mediaeval  fashion.  The  falconers  had  brought  only 
the  small  falcons  with  the  blue  tails,  as  we  were  after 
quail.  We  went  into  the  vineyards,  and  the  dogs  worked 
amongst  the  vines  ;  but  the  quail  would  not  rise  till  we 
nearly  trod  on  them,  they  were  so  frightened  of  the 
falcons.  They  knew  as  well  as  possible  what  was  going 
to  happen. 

However,  we  caught  a  quantity  of  them.  It  is  an 
interesting  sight  to  watch  the  falconer  give  the  hawk  a 
start  in  the  requisite  direction  with  a  swift  wave  of  his 
arm.  The  bird  slides  from  his  wrist  like  an  arrow  on  its 
prey,  strikes  it  to  the  earth,  and  begins  to  tear  it.  At 
that  moment  the  falconer  rushes  forward,  and  first  catching 
hold  of  the  lon^  strinc^  hanorinir  from  its  lee  for  that 
purpose,  presents  his  fist,  upon  which  force  of  habit 
makes  the  hawk  hop  at  once.  Before  presenting  his  fist 
to  the  hawk,  he  takes  the  still  living  quail  from  its 
clutches  and  cuts  off  its  head  with  a  knife,  saying,  "  Bis- 
millah  er-rahman  er-rahim — In  the  name  of  Allah,  the 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  359 

clement  and  merciful " — in  order  that  the  quail  may  be 
fit  for  eating  by  Mussulmans.  For  it  is  forbidden  by  the 
Koran  to  eat  a  beast  which  has  not  been  killed  in  that 
way  while  these  words  are  pronounced  over  it. 

While  hawking,  we  rode  to  the  top  of  a  hill,  where 
we  lunched  in  a  pavilion  surrounded  by  gardens.  This 
was  in  a  little  village  called  Sir,  where  the  American 
Missionaries  have  their  summer  station,  with  a  magnificent 
view  over  the  plain  and  lake  of  Ourmiah. 

Amongst  the  Christian  populations  of  this  country 
there  is  one  which  has  the  reputation  of  possessing  good 
military  qualities.  Since  the  invasion  of  the  Mussulmans 
it  has  always  taken  the  lead  in  every  insurrectionary 
movement.  This  is  the  tribe  inhabiting  the  village  of 
Mavana.  As  the  majority  of  the  tribe  have  been  con- 
verted from  Nestorianism  to  Catholicism,  Monseigneur 
Lesn6  insisted  upon  my  going  to  see  them. 

It  is  about  six  hours'  ride  from  Ourmiah,  on  the 
frontier  of  Turkey,  and  in  the  wildest  country  imaginable. 

I  was  accompanied  by  four  priests  of  the  Mission  and 
two  native  priests,  Kacha  Paulus  and  Kacha  Yussef, 
who  were  going  to  meet  the  bishop.  Mar  Thomas, 
coming  back  from  Mosoul,  where  he  had  been  to  assist  at 
the  election  of  the  new  Patriarch. 

My  servants,  and  a  secretary  who  could  speak  the 
Chaldean  language,  completed  the  party. 

The  road  across  the  plain  was  bordered  by  willow 
trees.  At  a  turning  a  cairn  of  stones  indicated  that  a  man 
had  been  killed  there. 


3G0      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

The  country  became  more  and  more  savage  as  we 
advanced,  and  as  we  entered  a  pass  in  the  mountains 
every  here  and  there  were  to  be  seen  stones  commemor- 
atinor  murders.  I  was  shown  one  of  these  hucre  stones, 
where  a  Mavanali,  attacked  by  fifteen  Kurdish  horsemen, 
had  taken  refuge  and  kept  them  at  bay.  Then  we 
crossed  a  river,  and  climbed  until  we  got  to  the  top  of  a 
mountain,  all  covered  with  chamen,  yellow  during  this 
season.  After  several  ups  and  downs,  a  huge  plain  came 
into  view,  spreading  to  the  foot  of  the  high  dark  moun- 
tains of  the  Turkish  frontier.  Behind  an  undulation  we 
perceived  the  village  of  Havana  outlined  against  the 
yellowish  green  of  the  plain.  A  group  of  trees  made 
a  dark  patch  at  the  back,  while  the  foreground  was 
occupied  by  threshing-floors,  where  workers  swarmed  like 
ants  on  the  golden  carpet  of  the  straw. 

I  was  to  be  the  guest  of  the  Catholic  priest  of  the 
village,  Kacha  Youkhanna  (John  the  Baptist),  a  native 
who  had  benefited  by  the  permission  given  by  the  Pope 
for  the  converted  Nestorian  priests  to  marry.  His  house 
was  built  of  mud  and  stones  with  thick  walls,  no  windows, 
only  three  holes  at  the  top  to  admit  air. 

As  I  entered  the  house,  all  the  family  kissed  my  hand 
and  raised  it  to  their  foreheads. 

At  twilight  my  host  took  us  to  have  tea  near  the 
group  of  trees,  and  all  the  young  men  of  the  tribe  per- 
formed war  dances.  As  the  night  advanced,  we  returned 
to  the  house  of  the  priest,  where  a  dinner  was  served — on 
the  floor,  of  course.     Kacha  Youkhanna  sat  at  my  right. 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  361 

and  Malik  Atou,  the  old  chief  of  the  tribe,  on  my  left. 
Wine  was  poured  in  brass  cups  from  goat-skins,  and  my 
health  was  drunk,  to  which  I  answered  in  returning  it 
with  the  only  Chaldean  sounds  that  I  knew — Khob- 
Lokhoun — To  your  good  health. 

Young  warriors,  intrepid-looking  and  most  pictur- 
esquely dressed,  with  their  arms  and  cartridge  belts 
shining  across  their  chests,  stood  watching  us  and  waiting 
until  we  had  finished,  to  eat  what  we  left. 

Afterwards,  Malik  Atou,  with  the  interesting  and  wild 
features  of  a  Corsair,  told  the  story  of  his  tribe.  Though 
I  could  not  understand  a  word  of  it — for  he  spoke  Chal- 
dean— I  was  interested  to  watch  the  play  of  his  features 
and  his  gestures  and  the  picturesqueness  of  the  tableau 
of  the  excited  audience,  who  interrupted  him  to  add 
details.  The  secretary  attached  to  me  by  the  missionary, 
Rabbi  Ben-Yamin  (Benjamin),  took  down  too  all  that  was 
said,  and  it  was  translated  later  on  by  one  of  the  mission- 
aries. Father  Solomon,  a  native  of  the  country  partly 
educated  in  Rome. 

Mavana  contains  two  hundred  houses  and  three 
hundred  and  seventy  warriors,  whose  courage  is  renowned 
all  over  Persia.  For  this  reason,  when  the  Government 
wishes  to  chastise  insurgent  Kurdish  tribes,  it  takes 
warriors  from  Mavana  as  advance  guards  and  scouts  for 
its  troops,  who  very  often  do  not  need  to  fight  them- 
selves, everything  being  done  by  the  Mavanali. 

The  governor  of  the  province  provides  them  with 
rifles,  and  consigns  to  the  care  of  the  mayor  boxes  of 


362      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

cartridofes,  which  he  distributes  in  time  of  war.  A  certain 
number  of  cartridijes  are  served  out  to  each  of  them.  If 
these  cartridges  are  used  except  in  warfare,  they  have  to 
be  paid  for  by  the  men  who  fire  them.  This  is  why, 
as  they  cannot  help  using  some  of  their  cartridges 
to  shoot  wild  goats  or  other  game,  they  long  for  war, 
when  the  count  of  cartridges  is  not  taken.  They  find 
it  easier  to  fight  than  to  tear  open  the  strings  of  their 
purses. 

The  women  and  children  of  that  tribe  are  not  afraid 
of  standing  fire ;  they  mix  so  much  in  warfare  that  many 
have  lost  their  lives  in  it.  As  to  the  children,  they  run 
after  the  bullets  when  they  see  them  falling. 

The  chief  wealth  of  the  country  lies  in  sheep  and 
goats,  but  they  are  very  difficult  to  keep,  because  they 
have  to  be  taken  to  pastures  distant  from  the  village  and 
are  often  stolen,  though  the  shepherds  are  always  armed. 
I  have  been  told  that  when  the  Turkish  Kurds  come  from 
the  other  side  of  the  frontier  to  carry  away  the  flocks, 
their  practice  is  to  steal  under  cover  of  the  rocks  up  to 
the  shepherd  and  stab  him,  in  order  that  no  firing  may  be 
heard.  They  take  a  goat,  cut  its  ears,  and  draw  a  string 
round  its  neck  and  lead  it — then  all  the  rest  of  the  flock 
follows.  One  wonders  if  the  smell  of  blood  has  anything 
to  do  with  it,  as  these  shepherds  assert. 

In  this  manner  thousands  of  sheep  and  goats  are 
stolen  at  once,  and  then  there  is  an  expedition  —  a 
miniature  war,  to  get  them  back.  For  this  reason  the 
country  is  nearly  always  in  a  state  of  war. 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  363 

Once  a  family  of  these  brave  Catholic  Kurds  had 
come  down  from  its  mountains  to  graze  its  flocks  on  the 
plains  round  Mosoul.  They  were  attacked  by  a  band 
of  Mussulman  Kurds,  much  superior  in  number,  who 
massacred  them  all  and  took  all  their  flocks,  and  as 
trophies  cut  off  the  noses  and  ears  of  their  victims. 

Among  these  was  a  courageous  and  energetic  young 
man  who  had  been  left  on  the  field  for  dead.  In  spite 
of  his  grave  wounds,  he  recovered  consciousness  after 
a  few  hours.  He  could  only  just  crawl  back  to  his 
village.  There,  thanks  to  the  care  bestowed  upon  him, 
he  recovered  health ;  but  as  he  was  disfigured  by  the 
loss  of  his  nose  and  upper  lip  and  ears,  he  vowed  his 
life  to  vengeance,  and  concentrated  his  energies  on  the 
destruction  of  Mussulman  Kurds. 

He  lived  a  wandering  life  in  the  mountains,  and 
every  time  that  he  met  an  isolated  member  of  the 
detested  race,  he  shot  or  stabbed  him.  He  was  very 
much  dreaded,  and  made  a  great  reputation  as  a  killer 
of  men  in  this  mountainous  district,  where  strength  and 
courage  are  valued  above  everything  else. 

One  Friday  he  arrived  in  a  village  of  the  hated  race, 
and  went  into  the  mosque,  where  all  the  inhabitants  were 
praying.  As  he  entered  everybody  trembled,  but  nobody 
moved.  He  glared  ferociously  on  the  assemblage,  and, 
fixing  his  eyes  on  the  nicest-looking  and  most  vigorous 
young  man,  said,  "  I  shall  be  content  with  this  one 
to-day." 

He  went  up  to  him,  and  as  majestically  as  if  he  was 


364      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

accomplishing  a  sacred  mission,  he  stabbed  him.  A 
shiver  of  horror  froze  the  whole  assembly,  but  as 
everybody  knew  that  the  slightest  move  would  result  in 
death,  he  was  allowed  to  depart  as  if  nobody  had  noticed 
his  deed,  or  as  if  it  was  to  be  considered  an  act  of 
justice. 

That  shows  the  mentality  of  this  people  and  the 
perpetual  qtii  vive  in  which  they  have  to  live.  They 
say  that  very  often  in  the  night  their  village  has  been 
attacked,  which  obliges  them  to  place  sentinels  round 
the  town,  who  fire  at  any  person  walking  about  in  the 
night  who  does  not  belong  to  their  community. 

After  many  stories  told  by  the  old  chief  of  the  tribe, 
everybody  left  the  house — or  I  might  say  the  room,  for 
there  was  only  one  (the  women  went  to  sleep  some- 
where else).  I  was  invited  to  sleep  on  a  platform  of 
wood  on  which  a  thin  mattress  had  been  put. 

The  missionaries  at  Ourmiah  had  told  me  that  it  was 
not  necessary  to  take  my  bed  with  me,  that  I  should 
find  all  I  required  there.  I  began  to  think  that  they 
had  exaggerated ;  anyhow,  as  I  was  very  tired,  I  went 
to  sleep,  although  there  were  several  noisy  fellow-occu- 
pants of  the  room,  including  my  host  and  his  scribe. 
After  a  while  I  began  to  dream  that  some  of  these  wild 
Kurds  were  torturing  me,  and  that  I  was  being  burnt. 
I  woke,  and  found  that  I  was  in  reality  burning,  not 
from  fire,  but  with  the  bites  of  bugs,  which  in  Persia 
have  the  reputation  of  being  worse  than  anywhere  else. 
I  jumped  up,  and  thought  that  the  only  thing  to  do  was 


E 

u 
3 


a 


'J 

e 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  365 

to  get  out  of  the  room.  I  wrapped  myself  up  in  a  rug, 
and  noiselessly  went  out.  It  was  a  splendid  moonlight 
night ;  the  crests  of  the  mountains  towering  up  made 
the  scenery  almost  fairy-like.  I  climbed  on  the  terrace 
of  the  roof,  and  as  there  was  rather  a  cold  breeze,  I 
walked  from  roof  to  roof.  No  noise  was  heard.  The 
sight  was  both  majestic  and  impressive.  While  I  was 
enjoying  the  grandeur  heartily,  I  heard  in  the  distance, 
coming  down  the  other  end  of  the  village,  a  call,  which 
was  answered  by  a  voice  nearer  to  me  in  Chaldean.  As 
I  did  not  understand  this  language,  I  did  not  pay  any 
attention  to  it ;  but  the  call  was  repeated,  and  suddenly 
remembering  what  I  had  been  told  about  the  sentinels, 
I  quickly  retraced  my  steps  towards  the  house  of  my 
host,  and  just  as  I  was  flying  down  the  terrace  a  shot 
was  fired,  and  I  heard  the  bullet  flatten  itself  asfainst 
the  wall. 

I  rushed  into  the  house,  and  stood  up  against  the 
wall,  as  I  dared  not  lie  down. 

On  the  next  day  I  presided  at  a  solemn  Mass  given 
in  the  church  of  the  village,  strongly  built  with  huge 
stones  like  a  fortress,  a  purpose  for  which  it  has 
frequently  been  used.  The  church  was  full  of  wor- 
shippers. In  front  were  the  men,  kneeling  side  by  side, 
at  the  back  all  the  women. 

I  was  seated  in  the  choir,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
ceremony,  which  was  performed  according  to  the 
Chaldean  rites,  the  officiating  priest  laid  the  benedic- 
tion on  my  hands  by  drawing  them   through  his  own. 


366      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

whereupon  the  congregation  advanced  to  me  and  took 
the  benediction  from  my  hands  with  the  same  solemn 
gesture. 

I  left  that  village  after  lunch  and  returned  to  Ourmiah. 
I  did  not  remain  there,  but  proceeded  towards  Sauj- 
boulak,  the  capital  of  Northern  Kurdistan. 

As  this  country  is  more  dangerous,  an  escort  of  four 
horse  soldiers  was  provided  for  me. 

I  crossed  the  plain  of  Souldouz,  which  has  been 
given  by  the  Persian  Government  to  the  Kara-Papak 
(i.e.  black  fur  caps)  tribe,  which,  unwilling  to  remain 
under  the  Christian  yoke,  left  Erivan  at  the  time  of 
the  Russian  Conquest. 

I  saw  at  the  top  of  a  hill  called  Franghi  Daghi  (the 
Mount  of  the  Franks)  the  ruins  of  a  citadel,  which  had 
probably  been  built  by  the  Genoese  to  protect  their 
caravan  route  to  India. 

At  Sauj-Boulak  the  governor  was  profuse  in  his 
hospitalities.  He  placed  at  my  disposition  a  building 
at  the  end  of  the  garden  of  his  palace,  which  he  told 
me  had  been  occupied  by  the  famous  Kurdish  chief, 
Hamseh  Agha. 

When,  several  years  ago,  Hamseh  Agha  came 
as  a  guest  in  the  palace  to  Sauj-Boulak  to  settle 
an  affair  with  the  governor  about  tribute,  and  the 
governor,  as  this  man  was  the  too-powerful  chief 
of  an  important  tribe,  tried  to  detain  him,  he  said, 
"My  neck  is  not  made  for  chains,"  and  with  his 
scimitar  cut   himself  free,    killing    many  people   in   the 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  367 

process.  After  having  ravaged  the  country  for  many 
years,  Hamseh  Agha  had  a  miserable  death.  Amir 
Nizam  having  been  appointed  governor  in  that  same 
town,  sent  a  deputation  to  him  assuring  him  that  if 
he  would  promise  to  become  his  ally,  he  would  let  him 
rule  over  a  part  of  Kurdistan  on  the  condition  that  he 
paid  a  tribute.  He  invited  the  Agha  to  a  big  fete 
which  he  arranged  especially  in  honour  of  the  treaty, 
and,  in  order  that  he  should  have  no  fear  for  his  safety, 
he  swore  upon  the  Koran  that  he  would  be  answer- 
able for  his  life,  and  sent  to  him  the  Sacred  Book 
on  which  he  had  printed  his  seal.  Confident  in  this 
sacred  pledge,  Hamseh  Agha  accepted  the  invitation, 
and  came  with  fourteen  of  his  men.  They  were  received 
with  respect  in  the  camp  of  the  governor,  and  were  enter- 
tained in  his  tent,  and  smoked  the  kalyan  of  peace,  and 
signed  the  treaty.  But  suddenly,  at  a  given  signal,  the 
Amir  went  to  another  tent ;  then  his  soldiers  fired 
on  his  tent.  The  Kurdish  chief  sallied  out  with  his 
terrible  scimitar,  but  although  a  dozen  of  his  cowardly 
assailants  fell  killed  and  wounded,  he  succumbed  to 
numbers. 

The  governor  also  assigned  a  number  of  servants 
to  me.  This  was  rather  a  nuisance,  for  every  time  I 
wished  to  go  out,  they  all  accompanied  me.  It  spoilt 
my  visits  to  the  bazar,  where  my  escort,  and  also  my 
European  dress,  attracted  the  attention  of  everybody, 
and  when  I  stopped  in  front  of  a  shop  a  crowd  collected 
instantly. 


368      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

The  bazar  is  very  ruinous,  covered  with  vaulted 
roofs,  which  half  of  them  are  tumbling  down.  It  was 
only  in  the  Saddle  and  Mattress  Bazars,  and  in  the 
caravanserai  of  the  silk  merchants  of  Mosoul,  that  I 
found  anything  worth  noticing.  But  the  population 
was  the  most  interesting  and  the  most  manly-looking 
that  I  had  seen  in  Persia. 

What  a  pleasure  it  was  to  watch  this  crowd,  in  their 
picturesque,  loose-hanging  garments.  The  ruined  bazar 
made  such  a  striking  background  for  them.  Their 
energetic  and  wild  faces  were  lost  in  the  fringe  of  their 
turbans,  which  were  scarcely  fastened,  and  kept  up  one 
could  not  tell  how. 

Their  waists  were  encircled  by  very  broad  belts,  in 
which  was  always  a  dagger  with  a  plain  black  handle, 
and  their  white  trousers  were  so  large  and  so  puffed  out 
that  they  looked  like  skirts.  Their  kilted  kaftan  with 
ample  sleeves  was  held  on  by  a  sort  of  woollen  bolero, 
white  or  brown. 

The  governor,  my  host,  Muzaffer-oul-Moulk,  was  an 
amiable  old  gentleman,  with  a  very  bronzed  face  sur- 
mounted by  a  white  beard,  who  appeared  saddened  by 
disillusions. 

He  had  been  governor  of  the  province  of  Arabistan, 
where  he  had  met  Monsieur  Dieulafoy  and  his  wife, 
who  were  excavatino;  the  ruins  of  Susa.  He  had  been 
to  see  them  there,  for  the  Shah  had  ordered  him  to 
verify  the  contents  of  fifty  cases  that  M.  Dieulafoy 
was   sending   to    France.     It    was    believed    that   these 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  369 

cases  must  be  filled  with   precious  metals  like  gold   or 
jewels,  found  in  the  excavations. 

Muzaffer-oul-Moulk  ordered  two  or  three  of  these  to 
be  opened,  and  saw  that  they  were  filled  only  with 
broken  trunks  and  stones,  more  or  less  carved — nothing 
that  would  have  been  worth  twopence  in  Persia. 

There  was  also  a  little  pot  of  earth,  very  common 
in  shape,  like  those  which  the  people  of  the  lowest 
class  now  use  to  contain  their  tobacco.  A  little  piece 
of  it  was  broken,  and  M.  Dieulafoy  had  spent  sixty 
tomans  to  have  the  missing  piece  found,  which  was 
stuck  on  with  great  care  and  wrapped  up.  Muzaffer-oul- 
Moulk  asked  him  with  astonishment  why  he  took  all 
these  precautions,  and  why  he  had  spent  so  much  money 
for  a  thing  of  so  little  value.  M.  Dieulafoy  answered 
that  this  thing  had  a  very  great  value  for  the  Europeans, 
because  it  showed  how  the  pottery  was  made  three 
thousand  years  ago. 

Muzaffer-oul-Moulk  smiled,  and  gave  leave  for  the 
cases  to  be  despatched  without  further  delay. 

A  moment  afterwards,  M.  Dieulafoy  gave  leave  to  the 
workers  for  the  afternoon. 

Muzaffer-oul-Moulk  asked  why. 

He  answered,  "  Because  it  is  going  to  rain." 

"What  makes  you  think  that? "asked  the  Persian; 
"  the  sky  is  quite  clear." 

"The  barometer  indicates  it,"  answered  Dieulafoy. 

Muzaffer-oul-Moulk  was  unwilling  to  believe  it.    How- 
ever, a  few  hours  afterwards,  he  saw  a  cloud  appearing, 
24 


370      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

followed  by  a  terrible  wind,  which  blew  down  his  tent. 
And  then  came  one  of  those  flood-like  rains  which  are 
customary  in  Arabistan.  He  was  petrified  with  astonish- 
ment, and  M.  Dieulafoy  presented  him  with  the  baro- 
meter, which  he  had  kept,  and  showed  to  me. 

He  announced  to  me  that  he  was  going  to  leave  for 
Tabriz,  where  he  was  to  meet  the  Shah  on  his  return 
from  Europe.  I  had  noticed  that  preparations  were 
being  made.  A  governor  does  not  move  without  a 
large  suite.  He  travels  like  a  Satrap  of  the  ancient 
time,  with  all  the  luxuries  imaginable,  amongst  which 
snow  is  brought  from  the  mountains  several  times  a 
day.  I  watched  quantities  of  packages  and  kourjines 
being  prepared  for  his  journey. 

Then  there  arrived  a  procession  of  personages  of  the 
district,  who  came  to  wish  bon  voyage  to  His  Excellency. 

Some  of  them  had  really  the  grand  air,  and  were 
followed  by  servants  holding  their  chibouks.  An  old 
man  with  a  noble  gait  and  fine  Semitic  features  attracted 
my  attention  particularly  :  a  beard  of  silvery  white  fell 
in  graceful  undulations  on  his  chest.  He  wore  an  im- 
mense turban  of  cream-coloured  silk  bordered  with  or-old 
lace,  and  his  abba,  also  cream-coloured  and  adorned 
with  gold  stripes,  flowed  in  unison  with  his  slow  and 
cadenced  steps. 

Haughty  and  slender,  he  picked  his  steps  with  his 
fine  feet  in  their  yellow  pahpoush  over  the  red  of  the 
cracked  bricks. 

Some  of  the  others  had  coarse   features  too  much 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  371 

accentuated,  and  a  wild  and  malignant  appearance ;  their 
raven  black  moustaches,  falling  like  the  tusks  of  a  walrus, 
made  me  think  of  the  sanguinary  brigandage  which 
desolates  the  country,  of  wild  beasts,  or  of  the  com- 
panions of  the  ruthless  Tamerlane. 

In  Sauj-Boulak  the  women  of  the  lower  class  do 
not  cover  their  faces.  They  wear  a  sort  of  toque,  rather 
like  those  of  Toreadors.  A  great  part  of  the  population 
is  Sunnite,  and  more  in  sympathy  with  the  Turks  than 
with  the  Persians.  There  are  constantly  troubles  about 
this.  There  are  about  two  thousand  houses  of  these 
Sunnites,  and  only  one  hundred  houses  of  Shiites,  while 
there  are  a  hundred  and  fifty  houses  of  Jews.  There 
is  also  a  native  Protestant  called  Shahmashah  Shmoyl 
— Deacon  Samuel  —  who  has  been  appointed  by  an 
English  lady  to  propagate  his  faith.  But  there  are  no 
results,  because  he  is  too  much  taken  up  with  his  own 
concerns.  He  lives  very  well.  However,  there  are 
two  Protestant  houses  living  on  the  money  of  the  kind 
English  lady. 

From  Sauj-Boulak  I  went  to  Mian-Do-Ab — between 
two  waters.  On  the  way  I  visited  a  tomb  of  an  ancient 
Chaldean  king,  cut  out  of  the  side  of  the  mountain  at 
a  great  height  from  the  ground.  Ladders  were  brought, 
which  were  tied  together  with  the  girdles  of  the  men, 
and  with  great  difficulty  we  managed  to  climb  into  the 
tomb.  The  mortuary  chamber  was  hewn  out  of  the 
rock,  about  six  yards  high  and  eight  yards  deep. 

In  front  was  an  arcade  divided  up  by  two  columns, 


372      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

cut  likewise  out  of  the  virgin  rock  and  with  plain 
capitals  like  the  Doric  order.  Two  yards  farther,  the 
ground  rises  with  two  roofs  and  two  other  columns 
like  the  first.  In  this  upper  part  of  the  chamber  were 
dug  three  holes,  one  of  seven  or  eight  feet  long  and 
four  feet  wide,  and  two  others  on  the  left  about  four 
feet  long  and  nearly  two  feet  wide.  I  imagine  that 
these  were  tombs,  but  had  no  means  of  identifying 
them.  There  was  no  inscription  or  ornament  of  any 
sort.     The  upper  chamber  was  about  ten  feet  high. 

At  Mian- Do- Ab,  where  I  arrived  with  Mehmed  before 
my  baggage,  the  governor  would  not  receive  me,  as  I 
had  not  my  letters  of  introduction.  I  went  to  the 
caravanserai,  but  when  Abd-Oullah  arrived  with  my 
baggage,  I  sent  the  letter  to  the  governor,  and  he  was 
so  sorry  that  he  instantly  sent  me  several  men  with 
an  officer  of  his  staff  to  invite  me  to  stay  at  his  house. 
As  the  caravanserai  was  very  indifferent,  I  accepted. 

I  dined  with  him  on  the  floor,  and  he  excused  him- 
self for  not  being  able  to  give  me  any  pork  to  eat, 
because  he  had  been  told  that  Europeans  only  ate 
pork  and  drank  wine.  But  he  had  been  able  to  procure 
a  large  quantity  of  the  latter,  and  was  so  disappointed 
when  he  saw  that  I  preferred  plain  water,  that  he  drank 
all  the  wine  himself.  The  Persians  are  not  so  strict 
as  other  Mohammedans  about  drinking  wine.  He  was 
very  likely  glad  to  have  the  excuse  of  my  presence  to 
indulge  in  this  forbidden  luxury. 

After  dinner,   as    I    mentioned  that  I  was  tired  and 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  373 

wanted  to  get  up  early,  he  ordered  the  trays  and  plates 
to  be  taken  away  and  the  beds  to  be  brought  in.  My 
servant  unfolded  my  bed  in  a  corner  of  the  room,  and, 
to  my  amazement,  the  governor's  servants  spread  his 
Persian  bed  in  the  middle  of  the  room.  But  at  Rome 
one  must  do  as  the  Romans  do,  and  I  did  not  make 
any  remark. 

The  worst  of  it  was  that  he  snored,  and  it  would 
hardly  have  done  for  me  to  wake  him. 

I  then  regretted  that  I  had  not  stayed  in  my  caravan- 
serai. The  sun  was  scarcely  rising  when  I  took  the 
opportunity  of  getting  up  and  proceeding  with  my  journey. 

Mian-Do-Ab  had  been  bought  by  the  Shah  three 
years  previously  from  Amin-ed-Dowleh,  then  Grand 
Vizier,  for  the  sum  of  eighty  thousand  tomans.  It  is, 
as  its  name  implies,  very  well  watered  by  two  rivers. 
This  year  there  was  so  much  water  that  the  two  rivers 
joined  in  one  stream.  In  spite  of  the  floods,  the  harvest 
was  very  good.  The  country  is  mostly  under  wheat, 
barley,  cotton,  and  vines. 

My  next  destination  was  Maragha. 

My  path  lay  at  first  through  wide  plains,  mostly 
cultivated.  Then  we  re-entered  rocky  foot-hills.  When 
we  reached  the  top  of  them,  we  perceived  Maragha, 
which  spread  its  verdure  in  the  shape  of  a  scorpion  at 
the  foot  of  an  amphitheatre  of  mountains. 

The  limpidity  of  the  atmosphere  deceived  me,  so  that 
I  thought  we  were  quite  close  to  it,  while  we  were  still 
two  hours  away. 


374    .  QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

When  we  entered  the  town  we  had  to  pass  mono- 
tonous stretches  of  gardens  for  an  hour  or  so.  They 
were  enclosed  with  walls  of  unmortared  stones.  When 
we  arrived  at  the  vice-governor's  house,  he  was  not 
expecting  me  so  soon,  and  apologised  profusely  for  not 
having  sent  the  usual  esteghbal  or  escort  to  meet  me. 
He  reproached  me  with  not  having  sent  him  notice  of 
my  arrival.  It  had  not  been  possible,  because  the  wires 
of  the  telegraph  had  been  cut  by  the  nomad  tribes  of 
Shahsevends,  who  were  camping  in  the  country  and 
causing  grave  disturbances. 

Maragha  belongs  to  Assef-es-Saltaneh,  the  Sahab- 
Jam,  the  Master  of  All,  what  we  should  call  the  Minister 
of  Transport,  one  of  my  Teheran  friends,  who  had 
written  to  the  vice-governor,  Nassir  Daftar,  to  show 
me  special  hospitality. 

The  latter  gave  me  an  apartment  next  to  his  own  in 
the  Government  House.  All  the  front  of  the  room 
consisted  of  windows  made  on  the  English  principle,  but 
with  sashes  of  carved  wood.  It  looked  out  on  to  the 
courtyard,  where  the  prisoners  were  brought  before  the 
governor  to  be  tried. 

It  was  there  that  I  made  studies  upon  the  way 
justice  is  administered  in  Persia ;  and  as  I  was  shocked 
at  the  excessive  corporal  punishments,  I  asked  Nassir 
Daftar  to  stop  them  while  I  was  his  guest.  He  acceded 
to  my  wish,  exclaiming,  however,  "But  how  is  this? 
Have  you  no  justice  in  your  country  ? " 

Maragha  was  a  seat  of  the  Mongol  power.     Hulaku 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  375 

Khan,  the  grandson  of  Jenghiz  Khan,  after  having 
exterminated  the  Assassins  and  conquered  the  CaHphs 
of  Bagdad,  established  himself  in  this  spot.  He  chose 
this  site  because  of  the  scorpion  shape  of  the  valley, 
which  he  considered  of  good  omen.  He  had  a  Christian 
wife,  who  liked  to  be  surrounded  by  philosophers,  wise 
men,  and  priests.  There  are  still  some  remains  of 
the  university  founded  by  Hulaku  Khan,  and  I  went 
on  the  top  of  a  hill  near  the  city  where  formerly  stood 
the  observatory  of  the  celebrated  astronomer,  Nasr-ed- 
din,  who  invented  or  formed  the  table  of  the  Ilkhani. 
But  I  found  nothing  except  vague  foundations. 

Several  monuments  of  that  period  remain,  made  of 
bricks  with  beautiful  tiles,  which  still  preserve  their 
brilliant  colours.  But  as  the  Government  has  taken 
no  interest  to  the  place,  anyone  who  likes  helps  himself 
to  them.  Two  of  these  towers  are  the  tombs  of  Hulaku 
and  his  queen.  They  are  in  private  gardens.  The 
tower  of  the  King  is  occupied  by  a  stable.  I  climbed 
up  to  the  first  floor,  but  could  see  nothing  of  the 
decorations,  which  must  have  been  there,  and  have 
been  taken  away  by  people.  On  the  roof  were  storks' 
nests.  These  birds  are  much  venerated  in  the  country, 
for  they  are  supposed  to  bring  good  luck. 

Here  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  an  interesting  chief 
priest,  with  whom  I  had  several  conversations  about 
religion.  I  was  also  interested  in  the  fact  that  he 
had  already  twenty  wives  and  concubines  (the  number 
of  the  former  being  limited  to  four).     It  was  the  custom 


376      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

of  this  Solomon  to  sit  in  his  garden  surrounded  by  all 
his  women,  who  were  a  garden  in  themselves,  for  each 
one  of  them  dressed  in  a  different  gorgeous  hue, 
representing  some  favourite  flower. 

While  a  tower  was  being  erected  for  him  in  his 
garden  on  the  side  of  a  hill,  old  potteries  were  dis- 
covered, with  vessels  as  black  as  the  Etruscan  bucchero, 
very  solid  and  hard,  and  with  primitive  geometrical 
designs  on  them.  One  of  them  was  of  a  most  extra- 
ordinary pattern.  Out  of  a  bowl,  shaped  something 
like  a  cocoanut,  came  a  handle  at  the  back  and  a 
ram's  -  nose  spout,  with  a  canal  smaller  in  diameter 
than  a  lead  pencil  feeding  it.  I  have  looked  in  vain 
for  its  counterpart,  even  in  museums  like  the  Louvre. 
Seeing  my  admiration,  the  old  priest  made  me  a  present 
of  it.  The  ornamentation  suggested  very  primitive 
Greek  pottery.  It  is  the  finest  object  in  my  Oriental 
collection. 

On  the  day  before  my  departure,   I  heard  that  the 

nomad  tribes  of  Shahsevends  which  infested  the  country 

had  been  plundering  a  caravan  on  the  road  to  Tabriz. 

The   governor   of    Maragha    insisted    on    my   taking   a 

strong  escort,  and  asked  me   not  to   take   the  ordinary 

road,  but  to  make  a  detour  to  avoid  the  Shahsevends. 

As  this  detour  would   have  made  my  journey  a  whole 

day  longer,  and  as  it  was  my  last  stage  before  getting 

back  to  European  society  and  comforts,  and  especially 

because  the   Shah  was  on  his  way  back  from   Europe 

and    I    did    not  wish    to   miss   being  at  Tabriz  during 


Prehistoric  ju^  found  at  Maragha,  and  an  embroidery  from 

Bokhara, 


Collection  of  the  Antlior. 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  377 

his  stay,  I  decided  that  I  should  take  the  shortest 
route  in  spite  of  the  Shahsevends.  But  I  promised 
to  travel  only  during  the  daytime. 

We  started  very  early  in  the  morning,  with  an  escort 
of  martial-looking  horsemen.  The  country  was  as  wild 
as  that  near  Mavana,  and  the  road  was  only  a  vague 
caravan  track.  I  followed  the  telegraph  poles  :  the  surest 
means  to  prevent  my  missing  my  way.  We  trotted 
our  horses  along  until  two  o'clock,  when  we  reached 
a  village,  where  we  had  lunch  and  baited  our  horses. 
The  keeper  of  the  caravanserai  tried  to  persuade  me 
to  remain  there  for  the  night,  pointing  out  all  the 
dangers  of  the  road,  and  telling  me  about  the  murders 
daily  perpetrated  by  the  Shahsevends.  But  I  was 
more  nervous  about  not  getting  home  quickly,  so  I 
ordered  my  horse  to  be  got  ready — it  had  not  been 
unsaddled. 

My  servants  were  soon  prepared,  but  it  was  more 
difficult  to  make  the  escort  start  with  me.  They 
pretended  that  their  horses  were  not  sufficiently  rested, 
and  my  promises  of  large  backsheesh  only  decided  one 
of  them  to  come  along.  The  others  promised  to  follow 
a  short  time  after. 

We  were  soon  on  the  path  again.  It  grew  more 
and  more  monotonous  as  we  penetrated  farther  into 
the  mountains. 

We  were  to  reach  a  fortified  village  before  sunset, 
where  we  were  to  spend  the  night. 

We  had  not  met  a  soul,  we  had  not  heard  a  noise, 


378      QUEER  THINCxS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

nor  perceived  the  ghost  of  a  Shahsevend.  The  twilight 
soon  passed,  as  it  does  in  the  East,  and  a  bright  starlit 
night  without  moonshine  overtook  us.  It  was  light 
enough  to  guess  things  without  seeing  them.  My 
servants  became  very  nervous,  and  the  horseman  who 
was  ridincr  in  front  called  Mehmed  to  him  and  talked 
to  him  earnestly  in  Turkish  for  a  few  moments.  When 
he  had  finished  I  asked  Mehmed  to  tell  me  the  subject 
of  their  conversation.  It  was  only  after  much  hesitation 
that  he  explained  to  me  that  the  horseman  had  confided 
to  him  that  we  were  approaching  a  spot  called  the 
Khiaban  (avenue),  a  name  given  to  a  defile  renowned 
for  its  ambushes  for  caravans.  He  added  that  my 
obstinacy  in  insisting  on  pursuing  our  journey  had  put 
their  lives  in  jeopardy,  and  that  they  would  be  "upon 
my  head." 

The  moment  was  a  solemn  one.  We  rode  in  single 
file,  the  path  being  extremely  narrow.  In  front  was 
our  "escort,"  I  came  next,  followed  by  Mehmed  and 
Abd-Oullah,  and  the  chagtdrd  brought  up  the  rear.  I 
felt  the  weight  of  those  four  lives  on  my  head,  when 
suddenly  we  heard  the  trampling  of  horses  coming  from 
the  front.  Instantly  the  "escort"  slipped  away  on  our 
right  and  was  lost  in  the  hills. 

I  guessed  from  that  that  there  was  some  danger, 
and  that  was  the  reason  why  I  had  not  insisted  upon 
the  rest  of  the  escort  accompanying  us.  The  clatter 
of  hoofs  drew  nearer,  and  I  perceived  the  shadows 
against  the  clear  night  sky  of  several   horsemen,  with 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  379 

their  rifles  planted  on  their  right  knees  ready  to  be 
used.  Things  were  critical.  Were  they  peaceful 
travellers  like  ourselves,  or  were  they  the  dreaded 
Shahsevends?  I  had  scarcely  time  to  think  of  that, 
when  the  first  horseman  alighted  and  caught  hold  of  my 
bridle. 

In  my  astonishment,  without  any  earthly  reason,  I 
gave  the  Mussulman  formula  of  salutation,  with 
cordiality  in  my  voice,  as  if  I  was  addressing  a 
friend,  "  Salam  aleikoum  !  " 

I  can  give  no  explanation  of  what  compelled  me 
to  act  thus,  I  can  hardly  even  describe  my  feelings. 
I  was  not  exactly  frightened.  I  felt  more  like  a  man 
condemned  to  be  hung  at  the  moment  when  the  cord 
is  going  round  his  neck,  when  there  is  no  further 
occasion  to  be  frightened  because  the  end  has  come. 

The  man  stared  at  me  without  saying  anything,  and 
turned  to  his  companions,  with  whom  he  exchanged  some 
words  in  a  low  voice.  After  a  brief  parley  he  remounted 
his  horse,  and  addressing  me,  said,  '' Khoda Hafiz''  (God 
guard  thee),  and  they  filed  past  us  and  were  lost  in  the 
night.  I  counted  them  as  they  passed :  they  were 
seven. 

At  that  moment  fear  fell  upon  me.  A  cold  sweat 
burst  from  my  forehead. 

A  ghastly  idea  obsessed  me  that  they  had  let  us  pass 
only  to  shoot  us  down  from  behind  at  their  leisure.  At 
that  moment  a  fresh  clatter  of  hoofs  came  from  our  right. 

A  shiver  ran  down  my  spine,  but  there  was  no  call 


380      QUEER  THINGS  ABOUT  PERSIA 

for  it,  because  it  was  only  the  "escort"  coming  back, 
who,  as  I  was  informed  afterwards,  gave  the  excuse  that 
it  was  for  my  good  that  he  had  fled,  to  take  a  position  on 
a  hill  from  which  he  could  shoot  down  my  assailants  ; 
for  if  he  had  remained  with  us,  as  he  was  the  only  one 
armed,  he  would  have  been  overpowered  in  a  second. 

He  resumed  his  post  at  the  head  of  the  cortege,  and 
we  were  soon  in  the  dreaded  Khiaban. 

It  was  a  narrow  gorge  between  rocky  hillsides.  My 
imagination  was  so  possessed  that  I  saw  in  every  bush  a 
crouching  rifleman,  and  the  few  minutes  of  the  passage 
of  the  Khiaban  seemed  like  hours. 

As  we  emerged  and  the  darkness  became  less  intense, 
my  horse  swerved  violently,  and  I  perceived  on  the  side 
of  the  path  two  pale  spots,  which  I  made  out  to  be  the 
bodies  of  the  two  poor  camel  drivers  who  had  been  killed 
in  the  assault  on  the  caravan  of  which  the  keeper  of  the 
caravanserai  had  been  speaking. 

A  few  hundred  paces  farther  on  was  a  guard-house, 
whose  business  it  was  to  look  after  the  safety  of  this  defile  ; 
but  the  guards  were  comfortably  bolted  in,  and  we  had  to 
knock  at  the  door  and  prove  our  respectability  before 
they  would  trust  us  in. 

They  looked  far  worse  than  Shahsevends  could  be 
imagined  to  look.  However,  after  much  parleying  and 
promises  of  large  backsheesh,  I  succeeded  in  persuading 
two  of  them  to  accompany  me  to  the  village,  which  I  had 
expected  to  reach  before  sunset,  but  which  was  still  one 
hour  farther. 


BOUND  FOR  KURDISTAN  381 

The  keeper  of  the  caravanserai  had  gone  up  in  my 
estimation. 

Even  when  we  did  arrive  at  the  village,  I  was  not  at 
the  end  of  my  troubles,  for  it  was  surrounded  by  high 
walls,  and  the  gates  were  shut.  After  my  men  had 
knocked  at  the  gate  for  fifteen  minutes,  the  porter 
shouted  through  the  gate,  *'  Who  are  you  ?  What 
do  you  want?" 

"We  are  servants  of  the  Shah,"  answered  my  men; 
"open  the  gate." 

**  Servants  of  the  Shah  ?  Oh,  I  know  Shahsevends ! 
Come  back  to-morrow  morning." 

Explanations  went  on  for  about  half  an  hour,  till  at 
last,  after  having  used  up  our  whole  stock  of  menaces  in 
the  name  of  the  Shah,  and  mentioned  that  I  was  a 
Franghi,  the  gate  was  opened,  and  we  were  led  through 
endless  flocks  of  sheep  and  goats,  which  had  been  driven 
in  for  security  during  the  night,  to  the  caravanserai, 
where  I  passed  the  brief  balance  of  that  awful  night. 

At  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  we  were  up,  and  at 
four  were  in  our  saddles  in  order  to  get  to  Tabriz  by 
daylight.  But  it  was  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  before 
we  rode  in  to  its  gates. 

One  hour  out  of  the  city  I  was  met  by  a  little  troupe 
of  Europeans  and  Persians  from  the  city,  who  came  to 
make  me  an  estaghbal. 

This  was  the  end  of  my  journey  round  lake  Ourmiah, 
and  of  the  most  memorable  twenty-four  hours  in  my  life. 


Printed  by 

Morrison  &  Ginn  Limited 

Edinburgh 


IIMl\/  nx:  PAi  ic  I  iDDADv  I  r\c  AMpri  re 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    000  496  314    6 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA-LOS  ANQELE9 


L  007  955  345  9 


^^^m^jtasuuiu^ 


v^lkM^^^^Ml 


li  Mil     ilDiiiii^^'i  iliiii 


